It’s a big weekend on the Angus football calendar with so much at stake.
It’s all about derbies this weekend with the Old Firm taking centre stage in the SPL title shoot-out and Dunfermline and Raith going head to head for the first division title.
Passion, intensity and ultimately winning, that’s what these games are all about. And the two crucial Angus derbies on Saturday will be no different.
Arbroath go up against bitter rivals Montrose at Gayfield knowing that three points could be enough to secure the first league championship in the club’s 133-year history.
Montrose dumped Arbroath out of the Scottish Cup in October but the Lichties got revenge with a 4-0 win at Gayfield followed by a 5-0 victory at Links Park in a clash with two sendings off, two penalties and seven bookings.
A lively atmosphere is guaranteed and the visitors’ recent run of form is giving every indication that they could be party poopers in front of Arbroath’s biggest gate of the season.
Revenge is a dish best served cold after all. The rivalry runs deep between the east coast neighbours with certainly no love lost.
In fact, the Gable Endies are opening the bar at Links Park pre-match so fans can enjoy a few drinks “in friendly atmosphere knowing that all money goes straight to MFC as opposed to the Arbroath bars.”
Arbroath go up against Montrose as odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to win, with the Gable Endies big underdogs despite being unbeaten in four games under new manager Ray Farningham.
Meanwhile, Brechin and Forfar face each other in the race for the three spots behind runaway second division champions Livingston.
Both teams’ play-off spot looks safe but they’ll want to finish as high up the league as possible to avoid a match against the ninth-placed team in division one. A 1-1 draw in August was followed by a goalless stalemate in November before Forfar took the spoils with a 2-1 win deep in injury time at Station Park last month.
Brechin manager Jim Weir described the defeat as the worst result since he took charge. Weir’s side were leading 1-0 with five minutes to go when they collapsed at the death.
Brechin will go into the match relishing the thought of avenging that late win at Glebe Park.
Their fans will start the day at the home of their Angus rivals in Forfar walking from Station Park to Glebe Park in the morning to raise money for the club’s coffers and a cancer charity.
All will likely be in a less charitable mood come 3pm, however.
Both games should attract over 1000 supporters and will be fiery, fiesty and passionate affairs.