Given the humbling Kilmarnock’s old foes, Ayr United, had suffered earlier in the day, the Rangers bound Jordan Jones could’ve appeared on the Rugby Park pitch wreathed in a We Are The People tunic and nobody would have batted an eyelid. The Killie fans were in jubilant fettle before kick-off thanks to Auchinleck Talbot’s heroics and it was going to take more than one of their best players moving to Ibrox to wipe the smiles off their faces. They were still grinning at the full-time too as Steve Clarke’s men flung their name into the draw for the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup. In fact, everybody went home happy. Forfar, full of honest industry and sprightly invention, gave it a right good go and contributed plenty to a crisp, competitive cup tie. It wasn’t until the 78th minute, when Chris Burke doubled Kilmarnock’s lead, that their hopes of salvaging something from the tussle were extinguished.

While Jones’ summer move up the M77 has caused much harrumphing, the to-ing and fro-ing of Greg Stewart has left a bitter taste in Clarke’s mouth. A stand out for Kilmarnock in the first half of the season, Stewart was recalled by parent club Birmingham City but has now been loaned out to Aberdeen. The softly spoken Clarke didn’t mince his words when asked about the deal. “Bull****,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “If I am honest, the whole deal had a slightly strange smell right from the very start, but that happens in football. I am not talking about the player here. It’s not the player. It’s the deal. But the deal is private and what happens when you speak with other clubs stays private.”

On the park, meanwhile, Forfar were lively, well-organised and stubborn in the opening stages but their resistance was broken on 19 minutes when Stuart Findlay unleashed a wonderfully executed left-footed drive which whistled into the net with grand aplomb. “It was his second-best finish of the week as he hit one into the top corner in training from 40 yards,” added Clarke with a wry smile. “I said to him, ‘you’ll never do that in a game.’” Findlay’s cracker didn’t open the floodgates, though. While Rory McKenzie’s searing, bouncing effort brought out an awkward save from Marc McCallum a couple of minutes after that opener, Kilmarnock didn’t fashion much else to write home about. Indeed, Forfar’s morale, movement and mischief was not dampened by falling behind and Murray Mackintosh’s raking drive forced Jamie MacDonald into a flying save.

As the second period progressed, things were still very much in the balance although Kilmarnock forged a good opportunity to double their advantage when Iain Wilson embarked on a surging run and released Greg Kiltie but his shot was well blocked by McCallum. At the other end, Forfar were making themselves about as popular as a Rangers transfer swoop among the increasingly jittery home support. Jamie Bain’s dangerous, low cross had to be patted away by MacDonald as it whizzed across the face of the goal while Bain provoked more cursing groans and grumbles with an angled attempt which bounced wide.

The nerves were settled on 78 minutes when a neatly assembled move ended with Burke cushioning a volley home from a few yards.

“I wanted to make sure that the players and the club left here with a lot of respect and I think we managed to do that,” said a satisfied Forfar manager, Jim Weir. “We gave a good account of ourselves. I asked the players to give me their best and I feel I got that today."