Forfar manager Gary Bollan reckons that their Play-off final against Peterhead is a battle between two sides out to make the most of a second chance.
The sides meet at Station Park in their first leg tonight and Bollan said: “It is a game between two clubs looking to be in League 1 next season by a different route than they had first hoped. We are looking to make up for not winning the league and Peterhead are looking to make the most of avoiding automatic relegation on the final day.”
“As a result I am sure that like me their manager Jim McInally will be thinking that this will be a very difficult tie. It will come down to fine margins.”
The Blue Toon’s most potent striker Rory McAllister will feature tonight but is suspended for Saturday’s second leg however Bollan is keen to stress that does not tip the odds in his side’s favour.
The Station Park manager said: “Rory is a very good player but Peterhead are not just a one man team. He is a goal threat and I am sure that he will show that threat in this game but it is not just about stopping him as they have other dangerous players.”
Bollan has an injury and suspension free squad to choose from.
Peterhead manager Jim McInally is planning for a war of endurance over 180 minutes as opposed to just the first meeting as he explained: “We put in a very professional performance against Montrose at the weekend but I will make changes for this one. We are preparing for two games not just one as nothing will be sorted on Wednesday night.”
“These play-off games are intense and for the first 20 minutes against Montrose at the weekend it was a really pressurised environment. They are Cup Finals and that takes its toll on players and I will pick a team to handle all these factors.”
“Despite handling the threat of Montrose and scoring 3 goals there is still room for improvement in our performance levels.”
McInally added: “We will need that uplift in performance as Forfar are a very good side. They appear to have got over their disappointment of not winning the league and that has added to the tremendous respect I already had for their players and manager.”
“Thomas O’Brien, David Cox, Gavin Swankie and Jim Lister provide a really strong backbone to their team so this is going to be tough.”
“I do not think there is a favourite for this tie and it will take the 180 minutes to separate us.”
Scott Ross has returned to training and could feature with McAllister set to start after overcoming a niggling groin injury.
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