Team news

Dons duo missing against parent club Forfar have been refused permission to field on-loan Aberdeen duo Joe Shaughnessy and Nicky Low when they take on the Dons in the Scottish Cup fourth round.

The Loons will also be without on-loan Dundee United goalkeeper Marc McCallum as the Tannadice club have not granted him clearance to play, while midfielder Chris Hegarty is missing through suspension.

Manager Dick Campbell, who has seen his side slip to the foot of the Second Division said: "A real battling performance against Aberdeen would be the perfect response after disappointing results in the league." "I am not overly interested in their record in cup competitions against teams from lower leagues. All I am interested in is Forfar doing the best they can and then we can takes things from there." Mark Reynolds is set to make his Aberdeen debut after the Dons completed the paperwork on his loan deal from Sheffield Wednesday.

The defender will replace Richard Foster in the squad after Aberdeen accepted an offer from Bristol City for their captain.

Andrew Considine and Rob Milsom are suspended while Youl Mawene again misses out through injury.

Reynolds is looking to revive his career under a management team he knows and trusts.

He left Motherwell for Wednesday in January last year but he has played just 14 games, failing to win over Gary Megson after the man who signed him, Alan Irvine, was sacked.

Aberdeen boss Craig Brown tried to sign Reynolds just after he and assistant Archie Knox themselves left Fir Park and they have kept the former Scotland Under-21 international in their sights ever since.

The 24-year-old, who could make his debut at Forfar tomorrow in the William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round, said: "In the end it was an easy decision. As a young player you just want to play football.

"Unfortunately that wasn't happening for me down at Sheffield.

"I wanted to come back up and get some regular game time and work with a manager I know and trust and will enjoy.

"I worked with Craig and Archie before and I enjoyed it and we were very successful together.

"I think everything is in place for that to happen here as well." Reynolds would not be drawn on his long-term plans.

"I'm just up to play football for six months and see how it goes," he said.

"I have still got a long contract with Sheffield Wednesday.

Forfar vs Aberdeen

Last modified 17:17 07/01/12

Four-star Dons cruise into fifth round Aberdeen progressed to the fifth round of the William Hill Scottish Cup with a 4-0 victory over Forfar at Station Park.

The Dons, who exited the Co-operative Insurance Cup at the hands of Second Division East Fife on penalties, ensured there would be no cup shock this time around when Scott Vernon opened the scoring after 31 minutes.

Mohamed Chalali added a second 10 minutes later, Rory Fallon headed home on 71 minutes and Mitch Megginson completed the scoring late on to give the Clydesdale Bank Premier League side a comfortable win against Dick Campbell's men.

With skipper Richard Foster having left Pittodrie to sign for Bristol City and Andrew Considine and Youl Mawene absent through suspension and injury respectively, there was a first start for loan signing Mark Reynolds who joined the Dons from Sheffield Wednesday on Friday.

Kari Arnason was handed the captain's armband in Foster's absence, while there were also starts for Chalali, Clark Robertson and Rory McArdle.

The Dons began to exert their authority early on with Forfar goalkeeper Greg Paterson called upon to keep out a low Ryan Jack drive and a Vernon snapshot in the opening minutes.

The visitors were forced to make an early change when Peter Pawlett limped off and was replaced by Chris Clark with 14 minutes gone.

They had the ball in the back of the net a couple of minutes later when Paterson fumbled a McArdle header over the line, but the goal was chalked off for offside. And things went from bad to worse for the Dons after only 18 minutes when Isaac Osbourne hobbled off and Fallon was introduced in his place. The part-timers gave their top-flight rivals a scare when Greg Ross fired just wide at the near post after some strong running by on-loan Dundee United winger Dale Hilson. But they were to rue that missed opportunity when Aberdeen took the lead after 31 minutes when the home defence failed to deal with Arnason's long throw and Vernon volleyed home.

And the Dons doubled their advantage four minutes before the break when Chalali seized upon an error by Forfar skipper Marc McCulloch and kept his composure to slot the ball past Paterson.

Fallon passed up a golden opportunity to score a third within three minutes of the restart when he failed to direct his header from a Fraser Fyvie corner on target with an open goal at his mercy.

The New Zealand international almost redeemed himself after 62 minutes when he played a neat pass to release Chalali, but Paterson was equal to the Algerian's effort before Chris Templeman went close at the other end with a close-range volley which was well stopped by Jason Brown.

But Fallon eventually got his goal after 71 minutes with a diving header after Chalali had flicked on Vernon's cross to put the result beyond doubt.