Kelty Hearts 1 Forfar Athletic 1

New Central Park, Kelty 
Saturday 23 April 2022
SPFL cinch League 2 

Okay, they didn’t win, but for Forfar a 1-1 away draw against League Two champions Kelty Hearts was, in the most important way, mission accomplished. With Annan Athletic losing away to Edinburgh City one day earlier, the Loons’ one-point gain at New Central Park was enough to see Forfar move into second place in the table. Three points against Stenhousemuir in the final fixture of the regular season will cement that runners-up spot and guarantee a home game in the second leg of the play-offs against the aforementioned Annan.

  Perhaps the only disappointing aspect of the game was the dismissal of Stefan McCluskey only minutes after Steven Warnock had cancelled out Kelty’s one-goal half-time lead. Not many people in the ground were aware of exactly why the Forfar playmaker was shown a red card, with the player himself protesting his innocence prior to departing the pitch.

  “A point wasn’t the worst result, but coming away with a man sent-off was disappointing,” said Forfar boss Gary Irvine. “It was a big blow to see Stefan sent off. He’s told me what he said to the referee. And I’ll need to see the report from the referee, who was quick to get his cards out. It was just unfortunate and put us in a tough position. The goal we scored, however, was a beauty. It was a great strike by Steven Warnock and no more than we deserved. But everyone had to work hard after the sending-off to make sure we got something from the game.

  “Going behind to a set-piece goal was a sore one too,” continued Irvine. “I felt like we were in control of the game at that point and looking the more likely to score. The goal itself was a let-down. The boys all felt there was a foul in Sam Fisher in the build-up. But the message to the players did not change at half-time. It was ‘keep going and we’ll get the goal we deserve.’ It will come.”

  Indeed, only three minutes into the second period, Forfar were level, Warnock’s fine shot into the top corner surely a contender for ‘goal of the season.’ Thereafter, even a man down, Forfar were at least a match for the team that has dominated the league two season.

  “Head-to-head we have been the equals of Kelty this season,” claimed Irvine. “A win each and two draws reflect that. But we struggled at times with covid issues and injuries. Those are excuses but we lost ground at those times. But fair play too Kelty. They are deserved champions And they have been rewarded today. Seeing the celebrations will be good for my team. That’s what they should be aspiring to. And it should provide motivation for them going forward.”

  Speaking of which, there is a job still to be done. A home victory over Stenhousemuir on Saturday will surely cement Forfar’s second-place finish and that perhaps crucial home advantage in the second play-off fixture.

  “Next week is in our hands,” confirmed Irvine. “It is important to me that we show ourselves to be the second-best team behind Kelty. That has to be our mindset. That Stenhousemuir can’t make the play-offs now won’t alter our approach. They will come and try to make it hard for us, as they have in every game we have played against them this season. They are the only team we have so far failed to beat in a league game this season. So that will be the message to the players before next Saturday. We have an incentive to show we have been capable of beating every team in the division. 

  ‘Hopefully, we have five games to go. There is hard work to be done and big games to play. We’re all looking forward to the challenge."

Kelty Hearts 

1 Jamieson
16 McNab ? Philp 64'
4 Hill ⚽️ 31'
6 Forster
23 Ngwenya
8 Reilly
12 Tidser ?Agyeman 45'
10 Barjonas
11Higginbotham
7 Cardle ? Biabi 64'
17 Kucheriavyi

Subs

2 Black
3 Peggie
14 Philp
19 Clark
20 Donaldson
21 Biabi
22 Agyeman

Forfar Athletic 

1 McCallum ? 90'
2 Meechan
25 Fisher
26 Brindley ? Strachan 85'
16 Warnock ⚽️ 47' ? Thomson 87'
20 Harkins ? Hutton 87'
10 Slater
17 McCluskey ? 50'
22 Moore ? Shepherd 77'
9 Aitken ?Crossan 77'

Subs

11 G Anderson
3 Strachan 
14 Thomas 
18 Shepherd 
7 Thomson
24 Crossan
12 Hutton
15 Hussain
21 Sanderson (GK)

Referee: Calum Scott

Attendance: 903