Gary Irvine says “moments of real quality” from Dundee undid his Forfar side in their opening pre-season match.
In front of around 200 home fans, the Loons were beaten 3-0 at Station Park but Irvine insists there is plenty to be positive about ahead of the upcoming League Two season.
Taking on Premiership opposition, it was a second-half passing masterclass from former Rangers and Liverpool man Charlie Adam that made the difference.
He laid on three goals in six minutes but Irvine was pleased with his side’s application, particularly in a goal-less first half that saw Matthew Aitken head a Craig Slater cross onto the bar.
“There was plenty for us to work on, some real positives especially in the first half,” said former Dens favourite Irvine, who played the first hour at centre-back.
“I thought we were organised and we created a few chances.
🎥 | Goals from today's pre-season win over Forfar #thedee pic.twitter.com/OqpgaIdyMU
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) June 26, 2021
“I felt quite comfortable, we were solid at the back.
“Then the second half it was just moments of real quality from Dundee for their goals.
“But I saw good reactions to losing possession, we had organisation and good work rate so there were positives in the second half, too.”
‘We’d like a few more bodies in’
Forfar were missing key players like Steven Anderson and Steven Doris from their matchday squad.
Irvine admits mixtures of injury and Covid left his squad a little short but he was happy with the performance from his side.
The Loons had four trialists in their ranks, two of whom were Dundee youngsters Irvine knows well from his time as a coach at Dens.
Luke Strachan, grandson of former Scotland boss Gordon Strachan, started the match at left-back while Danny Strachan (no relation) played the second half at right-back.
Also trying out were striker Hashim Bakar, formerly of Peterhead, and midfielder Andrew Osei-Bonsu.
The latter played most recently for St Ives Town but started his career at MK Dons.
“We’d like a few more bodies in,” Irvine added.
“We had a couple of boys missing through Covid so we were a bit light on Saturday.
“The squad is shaping up well. I identified certain players early on for the way I want to play and we saw flashes of that on Saturday.
“We had real quality at times so there are positives.”
On the two Dundee Strachans, Irvine said: “The two young lads are boys myself and (assistant manager) Scott Robertson have worked with at Dundee.
“We wanted a look at them for the full-back positions and I thought they did well.
“I’ll have a wee think about those two and the other two trialists we had playing.”