Forfar Athletic have recorded a 3-0 win over Stranraer to move within touching distance of the Scottish Championship playoff final.

Forfar dominated the opening exchanges of the first leg without threatening in the final third, and it took until 16 minutes for Gavin Swankie to force a solid save out of David Mitchell in the Stranraer goal.

Danny Denholm and Michael Travis also found the target as Forfar threatened to take the lead, but Mitchell was doing enough to keep his side on level terms.

As the first half drew to a close, there was no let up from the home team with Denholm, Omar Kader and Derek Young all squandering openings in the final five minutes.

Stranraer had been second best throughout the opening period but soon after the restart, they almost stunned their hosts by edging ahead. However, after Scott Robertson had seen a shot saved, Stephen Stirling just missed the post from inside the penalty area.

Forfar went ahead on the hour mark through Kader, who was perfectly placed to fire home from close range after good work from Chris Templeman.

Kader's goal was a blow to the visitors, although they almost found an immediate reply thanks to Frank McKeown but his 20-yard strike didn't beat Rab Douglas.

It appeared as though Forfar would settle for a narrow lead ahead of the second leg, but three minutes from time, Swankie drilled a shot past Mitchell from the left side of the box to put his team in control.

Deep into added-on time, Martin Fotheringham set up Kerr Hay to fire a low shot into the bottom corner to leave Stranraer as huge underdogs ahead of the second leg.