There was little sign of the heavy snow from the days before when Hibs arrived in Forfar for Saturday’s tricky Scottish Cup tie.
What the club called a “Herculean effort”, involving volunteers from the local community, was required to get Station Park into shape – their team responded according despite a narrow defeat.
The ground’s resources were stretched to their limits in expectation of a 4,000-strong crowd making its way and national media popping into town for a rare visit.
A packed press box included the BBC who also brought extra cameras to feature the game on Sportscene in the slight hope of a cup upset.
Not many people gave Forfar, sitting eighth in League Two, a chance against a Premiership stalwart that starts most seasons in or eyeing European football.
You could hear the travelling fans dripping into the ground in a bubbly mood, with capital rivals Hearts being held by Spartans at the time.
Frankie Kent’s late winner saved Hearts’ blushes in that game and the mocking, optimistic tone of the Hibs support turned to frustration and, by the half-time whistle, anger after a drab first-half showing from their own side.
One nearby away fan stood up during the 18th minute and demanded substitutions.
Forfar put Hibs under pressure
A bitterly cold wind in the depths of the Scottish winter was a long way from Nick Montgomery’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
Still, it was no excuse for how they started the game and within 12 minutes, Forfar had hit the post through Seb Ross and had a Matty Allan header cleared off the line.
Those were two of many first-half chances that would have put Hibs under severe pressure.
Manager Ray McKinnon said earlier in the week that they’d have a game plan.
It wasn’t to sit in and frustrate Hibs, as many would have expected. Rather he wanted to “get in behind” their opponents – which they did on several occasions, mainly through Ross.
He asked them to be “super competitive” and they were.
The Angus farmland surroundings were also a long way from international tournaments in Qatar and Côte d’Ivoire that robbed Hibs of a few of their potential starters – again, no excuse for such a poor start to the match.
The African Cup of Nations almost left Forfar without Roberto Nditi but after failing to make the cut for the Tanzania squad, he returned to start this massive Scottish fourth-round tie for his club.
After Forfar’s terrific start, Nditi was harshly adjudged to have brought down Lewis Stevenson when Hibs were awarded a penalty and a chance to spare their blushes.
Marc McCallum guessed the right way to push away Joe Newell’s spot-kick – Hibs’ only shot on target in the first half.
The long-serving Loons keeper was at fault for Christian Doidge’s second-half goal that ultimately won the tie but it’s harsh to pin too much blame on him after a man-of-the-match-worthy performance out them in that position in the first place.
As well as the penalty save, he saved a Dylan Vente header that was about to nestle in the corner and did well to keep out Elie Youan.
Encouragement for Forfar
Post-match, it was unclear where interviews would be held, areas in the main stand were doubling up in use, the corridors and rooms with sloping ceilings tighter than Forfar’s backline on the day.
Leaving Station Park, the pre-match anticipatory bustle released on the terraces had dissipated and the town had reverted to resemble something more customary under a thick blanket of night sky.
It was as if it had never happened.
Presumably, the Hibs players will be treating it that way after the necessary debrief.
For Forfar, it could make a huge difference to where they place in League Two’s final standings.
A boost to finances, however, is dwarfed by the confidence the Loons can take from how they had Premiership opposition on the ropes and how much it galvanised the players and supporters.
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