Forfar gave as good as they got for large spells in their narrow defeat to Hibs in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
Christian Doidge’s header with around 20 minutes to go was all that separated the sides after a dominant first half from the Loons.
You wouldn’t have known there were 34 places between the sides going by an opening 45 minutes that Forfar dominated on chances.
Hibs’ fitness and quality told in the second half and was enough to get them over the line in a turgid display.
The capital side were restricted to one first-half shot on target, a penalty from Joe Newell that Mark McCallum brilliantly saved.
Forfar take the game to Hibs
On either side of that, there was a bombardment of Forfar chances. Seb Ross came closest, hitting the post in the opening minutes before Stuart Morrison headed just wide from corner seconds later.
Matty Allan then had his back-post header cleared off the line by Doidge as Hibs struggled to deal with set-pieces.
Hibs inevitably settled and had a good spell of possession but they were restricted to very few opportunities.
Other than Newell’s penalty – awarded harshly against WIlfred Nditi for a foul on Lewis Stevenson – the closest they came was through a Rudi Molotnikov header that eventually rolled out for a throw-in.
There were more Forfar chances before the break, and it took a last-ditch intervention from Will Fish to deny Morrison a tap-in and, as the break approached, Ross got into a great position but could only find a crowded-out Josh Skelly whose shot was blocked.
The half-time whistle brought with it some hearty boos from the 3,000 or so travelling support.
Their side emerged for the second half reinvigorated and Doidge should have had them ahead within minutes but he failed to connect with the cross from Elie Youan.
Forfar were still a threat and Ross was again sent in behind the Hibs defence. He got his shot away but it was under pressure and rolled just wide of David Marshall’s far post.
Nick Montgomery was moved into action, bringing on Dylan Vente and Dylan Levitt.
With his first touch, a header, Vente produced an excellent save from McCallum who minutes later had to be sharp at his near post to keep out Youan.
Forfar’s resistance was broken down in the 69th minute when McCallum came for a Jair Tavares free-kick but Doidge beat him to the ball and nodded it into the vacant goal.
The rest of the game saw Hibs retain possession and Forfar sitting deep, looking for a chance to pounce.
Ray McKinnon made a couple of changes of his own, bringing on Craig Thomson and later Rayan Mohammed for his debut after his loan move from Dundee.
The 18-year-old striker’s eye lit up Mohammed when the ball fell to him around 30 yards with six minutes left to go but his shot cleared the bar and then some.
Despite the defeat, Forfar can take a lot of encouragement from their performance when league duty resumes next week.
Forfar Athletic (4-5-1): McCallum; Allan (Mykyta 86′), Munro, Hutchison, Brindley; Nditi (Thomson 70′), Morrison, Whatley, Robson, Ross; Skelly.
Subs not used: Paris, Moore, Inglis, Watson, Paterson, Mohammed, Ferguson.
Hibs (4-2-3-1): Marshall; Whittaker (Obita 76′), Fish, Hanlon, Stevenson; Jeggo, Newell (Levitt 57′); Youan (McKirdy 84′), Molotnikov (Vente 57′), Tavares; Doidge.
Subs not used: Johnson, Blaney, Landers.
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