Striker makes Bathgate pay the penalty

Alex Lurinsky handed over the spot-kick duties after missing two penalties in a 1-1 draw against Camelon at the end of January.

But the decision didn't bring a change of luck as midfielder Marco Andreoni also failed to find the net from 12 yards out on Saturday.

And his miss, though visiting goalkeeper Stephen Vanderdeyl, in fairness, pulled off a fine save, proved costly for Graeme Love's side.

Shortly after they should have been back on level terms, they went 2-0 when Bryan Duell grabbed his second goal of the game by showing how a spot kick should be taken.

And there was no way back for Bathgate when the striker completed his hat-trick with a well-placed shot in the second half to take his tally for the season to 21.

"It is sore to miss three penalties in a row but the guys taking them - Alex Lurinsky and Marco Andreoni - are players who I'd always pick for that job," said Love afterwards.

If the spot-kick miss wasn't enough, Andreoni certainly knew it wasn't going to be his day early in the second-half when his shot from outside the box beat Vanderdeyl but hit the underside of the bar.

The midfielder was then denied for a third time in the game when he was teed up by Lurinsky only to see a goalbound shot hit off a defender.

By contrast, just about everything Forfar created in an attacking sense turned to gold, with Duell doing exactly what the Bathgate manager had warned his players the visiting No.?9 was capable of.

He beat Marc Lunn with a perfectly-placed free kick after just 15 minutes and, after tucking home his penalty eight minutes before the break, his finish to make it 3-0 was just as clinical.

"Duell hasn't got the pace or ability to get in behind but if you give him an opportunity he will punish you," admitted Love, who was left to rue the absence of his main targetman, Lee Johnstone.

While Lurinsky and Chris Jeffreys certainly couldn't be faulted for their workrate and got in behind the Forfar defence on a number of occasions, they lacked the cutting edge a player like Johnstone and, before him, Jim Lister can provide.

Bathgate's consolation goal was a real scrambled effort, with centre-half John Leiper appearing to force the ball over, though Vanderdeyl obviously felt the ball hadn't crossed the line given he chased referee Neil McLennan halfway up the pitch to protest at the decision.

Reflecting on Johnstone's absence along with first-choice goalkeeper Andy Carlin, Love said: "We've been without Andy for a while now due to his job situation changing and Marc Lunn, to be fair, has come in and done well.

"Lee was probably more of a miss for us in this game because he's a handful and it's maybe time, particularly after losing Graeme McLaren (to Bo'ness), for us to look at strengthening the squad."

In terms of possession, Bathgate certainly enjoyed the bulk of it, especially in the first-half, and the outcome could well have been different if Andreoni had converted his spot kick.

But, after dropping five points in their last two games, Love's side now have a mountain to climb to push themselves into the title race during the final few weeks of the season. "It is frustrating," admitted the former Hibs player. "We came in at half-time 2-0 down after dominating the game apart from the first five minutes.

"If we had converted the penalty and another couple of our chances we could have gone in at the break in a strong position.

"I was very positive with them at half-time. We had the belief that we could go out, create opportunities and win the game.

"The goals we lost were poor and the penalty, in particular, was very soft. In fact, it was a foul our way before (the referee] has given the penalty.

"We have to try and take positives but, at the same time, we've got to stop losing bad goals, as we certainly did with their third one."

With Linlithgow slipping up at Kelty, this win takes Forfar to within five points of the leaders and, what's more, last season's Premier Division champions have two games in hand.

Are they capable of making it back-to-back titles? "It is a hard one," observed Love. "If you are asking me if Forfar are the strongest side in the Super League, I would probably say no. But, if you go on a wee run, then anyone is capable of winning this league."

Bathgate Thistle: Lunn, W Wilson, C Wilson, A Neill, Leiper, McCulloch, Andreoni, Fallon (Frater 23, Forbes 65), Lurinsky, Jeffrey, F Love. Subs: Gupwell, G Love, Easton, McCafferty.

Forfar West End: Vanderdeyl, Logan, M Black, Millar, Gibb, Anderson, Pirie, McKenzie (Simie 85), Duell (Holden 77), Garrick, McConnachie (McDonald 82). Subs: R Black, Casey, Sturrock.

Bathgate Thistle 1

Forfar West End 3