Forfar Athletic 2 Kelty Hearts 2

SPFL cinch League 2
Station Park, Forfar
Saturday 14 August 2021

Forfar Athletic 

⚽️ Matthew Aitken 17' (pen)

⚽️ Craig Thomson 45'

Kelty Hearts 

⚽️⚽️ Nathan Austin 22', 64'

The good news is that Forfar’s unbeaten start to the League Two campaign continues. The mildly disappointing aspect of this more than satisfactory state of affairs is that, for the first time, points were dropped and goals conceded in a 2-2 home draw with Kelty Hearts. Still, to be fair to all concerned, a dead-heat was just about the right outcome after an entertaining encounter at Station Park. It’s a result that keeps the pair clear at the top of the table, with Kelty holding the slightest of edges having scoring one more goal than the Loons. 

“I would say a point was fair if I’m being honest,” said Forfar boss, Gary Irvine. “We knew going in that Kelty are a good side. We knew they were going to have a lot of the ball. And that was how it panned out. The good news is that we scored a couple of goals. Okay, one was a penalty, but the second one was a real quality goal from Craig Thomson. We’ve done that to a few teams now. 

  “Equally though, there is some frustration. With a wee bit of luck - maybe a couple of deflections falling our way - it could have been different. But I can’t take anything away from Kelty. They played well. But I have to say I felt quite comfortable out on the pitch. We kept our shape and made ourselves hard to beat. Yes, they had a few chances. But a draw was a fair result.”

  Typically not inclined to single out individuals within his team or squad, Irvine was nonetheless keen to offer some praise for man-of-the-match centre-forward, Matty Aitken. For the third game in succession, the big number-nine got himself on the scoresheet. Significantly too, he did so with a beautifully taken penalty, a facet of the game that has recently proved problematic for the Loons. Already this season, three spot-kicks have been missed.

  “Matty has come back here a different player,” enthused Irvine. “He’s strong and is using his body well. Scott Shepherd and Steven Doris too. They all handled today reasonably well. But Matty is a threat in every match. That’s why I brought him back. He went to Albion Rovers and finished up second-top goal-scorer in this league last season. Which is why I was quick to get in touch with him as I started to piece things together in the off-season. I knew he could add things to the squad and I’m delighted with how he is playing. As a professional, you always have to set yourself targets. You need things to aim for. I told him what I expect from him when he signed. And he has stepped up on the pitch. He’s getting his goals.

  “It was good too, to see Matty stepping up to take the penalty,” continued Irvine. “It was a good one. We have been working on our spot-kicks. So it was pleasing to see the ball hit the back of the net. And it’s another goal for Matty, which I’m delighted about. I knew too that he was going to get some close attention from their defence. They have a couple of big, strong centre-backs. In fact, when I saw their team-line I spotted that they actually have four big centre-backs listed. So we knew it was going to be a physical game. Our strikers were aware of that and I put it on them to stand up to that. They are all getting better at using their bodies.”

  Equally pleasing to the Forfar player-manager was the disappointment he saw in his players after the game. Far from being pleased with themselves for holding the team many pundits feel is favourite to win the league, the mood was one of mild annoyance that one point had not been three. 

  “I saw some frustration in our dressing room afterwards,” said the Forfar boss. “That’s a good thing. That tells me our standards are high and that we know we can do a lot better than we did today. We’ve drawn with the team most people think will be up there come the end of the season. So it’s a good thing we are disappointed. We just have to keep working hard and know we can do better.

  “For me, of course, the team battling hard is a minimum. I’ll always expect that. We work hard on our shape as a team when we are out of possession. Being hard to beat and hard to break down comes from hard work. All the players know that. That’s my message to them. It will always be there. And if they apply themselves in that way they cause other teams problems.”

  Perhaps most heartening, however, is the fact that Forfar are off to such a positive start to the campaign despite the absence of key defensive players. It’s safe to assume that, with the likes of Steven Anderson, Michael Travis and Darren Whyte missing or just coming back from injury, Irvine has yet to play what is likely to become his strongest eleven.

  “It’s so important to stay unbeaten,” said Irvine, who played all 90-minutes. “We need to keep that winning mentality going. It’s a real positive that we are still undefeated. But we did concede a couple of goals. I was in there telling we still need to do certain things better. Because we did lose two goals. I’ll always be that demanding. 

  “I’m stepping in because we are still recovering from a couple of injuries. We had two of those on the bench today in Steven and Michael. It’s still a wee bit too early for them. Steven played for an hour during the week so today was probably a bit too close for him to do that again. But he came on and got some minutes. That sort of thing is why I’m on the pitch. I’ll fill in as needed to help out the team. Which is not to say I’m not delighted to see bodies coming back to full fitness. I’m confident in the squad I’ve put together. So I’ll be happy for them to keep me on the sidelines. I know they are better options on the pitch.”

  Until then though, so far so good.