Montrose 1 Forfar Athletic 4

Forfar Athletic boosted their chances of progressing from the Betfred Cup group stage with a 4-1 dismantling of Montrose on Saturday.

Despite Josh Skelly giving the hosts the lead from the spot, two Dale Hilson penalties and two Michael Travis headers gave the Loons all three points at Links Park.

Jim Weir made four changes from the win over Brechin City as Jamie Bain, Connor Coupe, Callum Tapping and Scott Robertson replaced Ross Meechan, Ross Forbes, Andy Jackson and Darren Whyte.

The Gable Endies took the lead in the eighth minute when a mix up between Marc McCallum, Mark Docherty and Jamie Bain saw the latter bring down Terry Masson inside the box.

Josh Skelly stepped up and sent Marc McCallum the wrong way with his spot-kick to the delight of the home support.

The hosts were however dealt a blow in the 17^th minute as keeper Aaron Lennox seemed to be struggling with injury and was replaced by Allan Fleming.

Montrose had chances to extend their lead following this as Skelly fired wide before Masson saw his effort from a tight angle blocked by McCallum with the rebound hitting the midfielder and going for a goal kick.

In the 24^th minute referee, Craig Napier awarded Forfar a penalty of their own when Michael Travis was being held by Sean Dillon as the pair looked to get a head on Jordan Kirkpatrick’s free kick. Dale Hilson was the man to take the penalty and he powerfully blasted down the middle.

Both sides had chances to push themselves in front, with Sean Burns and Martin Rennie failing to find the net with free-kicks before Kirkpatrick sent a low effort straight at Fleming.

Kirkpatrick saw a shot deflected wide on the stroke of half time and from the resulting corner, the ref blew for half time but retracted this when the assistant indicated that Dillon had handled at the back post.

Hilson was once again the penalty taker and repeated his first effort as he blasted past Fleming to give the Loons the lead.

This boosted Jim Weir’s side’s confidence as they came out for the second half and they took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Hilson came close to completing his hat trick with a 20-yard effort that flew inches past the post in the 53^rd minute but just two minutes later they added a third.

From a quick free-kick, Callum Tapping played the ball back to Mark Docherty and his cross found the head of Michael Travis and he diverted the ball into the net via the inside of the post.

Gary Irvine was denied by Fleming before sub Ross Forbes failed to beat him with a free-kick just after the hour mark.

The lead was extended again with nineteen minutes remaining; Forbes sending a free-kick into the box for Travis to head home, giving him his second of the afternoon and third of the season.

The Loons came close to a fifth five minutes later when Andy Jackson saw his strike pushed away by Fleming but the ball found its way to Tapping who rattled the inside of the post with his curling effort.

Docherty ensured Montrose didn’t reduce the deficit late on when Blair Lyons slipped the ball past McCallum but the former East Fife captain cleared off the line.

Forfar have the chance to make it three from three on Wednesday as they make the long trip to Dingwall to face Ross County; the Premiership side are all but through with their three wins so far.

Montrose, on the other hand, have just three points from their three games and will likely focus on match fitness in their final tie with Brechin City on Saturday.

Match report by Lee Smith

Montrose: Lennox (Fleming 17, Ballantyne, Steeves, Waddell (Lyons 52), Masson, Webster, Rennie, Dillon, Callaghan, Cregg, Skelly (Campbell 64)

Subs not used: Allan, Watson, McLean, Milne

Forfar Athletic: McCallum, Bain (Meechan 75), Burns, Docherty, Travis, Robertson (Jackson 71), Coupe (Forbes 64), Irvine, Hilson, Tapping, Kirkpatrick

Subs not used:  Mackintosh, Aitken, Whyte, McGuff