Kelty Hearts 1 Forfar Athletic 0

New Central Park, Kelty
cinch League 2
Saturday 13 November 2021

It wasn’t hard to determine the mood of the Forfar players as they trooped out of their makeshift dressing room inside the Kelty Community Centre. The only adjective in play was “frustrated” at the end of a closely-contested and hard-fought but ultimately fruitless 1-0 defeat to league two leaders, Kelty Hearts. 

All of which can easily be looked upon as a positive. At the end of what was, on paper at least, the hardest league fixture the Loons will face this season, the obvious disappointment on the faces of the players spoke to their competitiveness against the team many feel are favourites to claim the top spot and automatic promotion.

“We’re obviously frustrated,” confirmed Forfar boss, Gary Irvine. “I felt like we were the better team, especially in the second half, although even in the first 45-minutes we restricted the opposition to virtually nothing in terms of chances. That was down to hard work and being organised on the pitch. I thought the lads were brilliant today. The only thing we maybe lacked was a little bit of belief in ourselves. There were a few poor decisions stemming from maybe a lack of confidence. We got the ball into the final third okay but failed to create that many clear-cut chances. 

“Having said that, I’m sure Kelty will be feeling pretty much the same. I think Marc McCallum had only one real save to make, from Joe Cardle. It was almost like a game of chess between two teams in the middle of the pitch. Both sides were feeding off the odd bad touch here and there. So it was a tough game, one that was mentally challenging for the lads.”

Irvine was quick to underline his feeling that his side had matched the home team in almost every department. Which was his message to the players after the game.

“Many people think seem to think Kelty are the best team in our league,” he said. “But I think we are. We have the best squad. On paper, Kelty have the points on the board, but I will always be instilling the belief in the squad that we are better. So we will keep pushing forward and believing in what we are doing. This game is away now. We’ve missed on the three points. But next Saturday we have three more to play for. I know the teams right behind us both lost today, but I’m not bothered about anyone else. Our mentality always has to be to look after ourselves.”

Still, there was no getting away from the fact that this was perhaps a chance missed to get in the heads of the Kelty players, who are now ten points clear at the top of league two. Despite the loss, Forfar remain second, two points ahead of their nearest pursuers, Stirling Albion. So the Loons remain on a good run of form. They remain in a strong position. And the gap between first and second is far from insurmountable at this early stage of the campaign. 

“I had great belief in the squad going into this game,” continued Irvine. “I knew it was going to be tough and mentally challenging. Kelty play a system that has been successful so far. I wasn’t surprised by anything they did. We did our homework on how they go about things. And we stood up to it, apart from the two minutes leading up to their goal (which came just two minutes into the second half). We were punished for that. But overall we dealt pretty well with everything they threw at us. 

“I give Kelty credit. They are a good side with some good players. But I told our lads before the game - and afterwards - that what we are doing is on the right track. Anyone at the game today would say there wasn’t much in it. That’s what we’ll take away with us. And this is why there is nothing but frustration for us today. They have players who supposedly should be playing in higher leagues. But every one of my players took them on. For large parts of the game, we were the better team, which shows we have the better players.”

Irvine also had praise for the large travelling support the Loons took south with them into Fife.  

“It was brilliant to see so many Forfar fans in the crowd,” he said. “It does help. We’ve all been through some tough times, so to get that support at home and away is great for the lads. When games are tough like today it is always helpful to hear the excitement from our fans that have travelled. It makes a difference. I’m disappointed we haven’t sent them back up the road with a point or even three.” 

Kelty Hearts 

1 Jamieson
15 Finlayson ? Philp 45'
6 Forster ? 64'
4 Hill ? Ngwenya 90+1'
25 O'Ware
2 Black
12 Tidser
19 Barron
11 Higginbotham
9 Austin ? Agyeman 45' ⚽️ 47'
7 Cardle ? Biabi 90+1'

Substitutes

5 Hooper
8 Reilly
14 Philp
16 McNab
20 Donaldson
21 Biabi
22 Agyeman
23 Ngwenya

Forfar Athletic 

1 McCallum
2 Meechan ? 63'
4 S Anderson
19 Munro ? 68'
3 Strachan
10 Slater
7 Thomson
14 Thomas
17 McCluskey ? 84'
9 Aitken ? Doris 86'
18 Shepherd ?Crossan 75'

Substitutes

5 Travis
12 Doris
15 Hussain
16 Gallagher
20 Harkins
21 Sanderson (GK)
23 Irvine
24 Crossan
25 Fisher

Referee: Chris Fordyce

Attendance: 856