01 October
Cinch League 1
New Central Park, Kelty
Kelty picked up their second league win of the season thanks to a battling performance against Airdrie at New Central Park. A late strike from substitute Alfredo Agyeman was all that separated the sides and was enough to give John Potter’s side all three points as the slowly start to build some momentum.
The result looked a long way off in the early part of the match – Airdrie enjoying the majority of possession and keeping the home side on the back foot for the first half hour. A half-chance for Joe Cardle from Nicky Low’s precision pass was about the only thing the Kelty fans had to cheer as Airdrie dominated the ball without ever testing Darren Jamieson.
Kelty did gradually start to find their way into the game however and Nathan Austin thought he’d put his side ahead as half-time approached. Jason Thomson’s ball out from defence found Fash, who turned his man and with Henderson coming racing off his line, lobbed the ball over the keeper. It felt like we were watching in slow motion as the chip drifted towards the back post, Fash hesitated a little – not sure whether to celebrate or not – and by the time he realised it was hitting the woodwork, it was just a fraction too late and the defender got there first to turn it behind.
The resulting corner was played deep to the back post, falling right onto the head of Thomson to bulleted his header into the net, but the celebrations were cut short after ref Steven Kirkland chalked the goal off. Nobody seemed quite sure what infringement he’d spotted, but the decision was no goal, and so the scores stayed level at the break.
Kelty were much better after the interval, enjoying longer spells of possession and beginning to put some pressure on the visiting defence. Austin had a strong claim for a penalty turned down after Henderson went right through him from behind trying to claim a ball which he was never his, but once again the ref ruled in favour of the visitors. Another couple of incidents between Fash and the keeper followed, and the away fans were starting to give Austin a bit of a hard time. To their credit though, both striker and keeper were just getting on with their jobs, and a discrete low-5 between the showed there were no hard feelings.
With time ticking away, Potter introduced Agyeman from the bench and the big striker made an instant impact. Jamieson launched a long goal kick, Austin flicked it on and Alfie did the rest: beating a defender, side stepping the keeper and sliding the ball into the empty net from the tightest of angles to win the game with just six minutes left on the watch.
The Airdrie fans were not happy, having a go at both their own side and the Kelty players as they trudged back to the bus. But in truth, their team simply hadn’t done enough to deserve something from the game – despite a decent start, they failed trouble DJ, who only had a couple of straight forward saves to make all afternoon. On the strength of the second half, Kelty were worth the three points, and just as important, another clean sheet. Potter’s men now face a tough trip to capital next weekend to face high-flying FC Edinburgh at Meadowbank.
05 October
EOSFL Qualifying Cup
Riverside Stadium, Perth
It took a late flourish from Swifts to finally see off the Haws and make it through to the next round of the EOSFL Qualifying Cup under the lights at the Riverside. Hill of Beath had led twice through Lyle Kellichan and Ross Allum but were pegged back once by Chris Dodd and again by Shaun Struthers, before Chris McLeish finally did the damage for the hosts.
There wasn’t a lot between these two sides on the night, and it was Hill of Beath that drew first blood on 28 minutes. Brandon Luke’s corner was cleared back to the taker, and his second cross sat up perfectly for Kellichan at the back post, who looped his header up and over Sam Townslie in the Swifts goal. It came in the middle of a decent spell for the visitors, Townslie pulling off a couple of big saved to keep his side in the hunt.
The lead didn’t last long however, Dodd pulling the hosts level just three minutes later. Swifts won the ball in the middle of the park and quickly shuffled it from right to left, where Dodd played a slick 1-2 with Dayle Robertson and fired home from the edge of the box.
Haws got themselves back in front again immediately after the half-time break, Townslie failing to get any distance when clearing a back pass, his kick only making it as far as Callum Adamson, who drifted wide and crossed for Allum to head the Fifers back into the lead.
Once again though, the visitors couldn’t hold onto the advantage for long, Struthers squaring the tie up again within nine minutes, after winning the ball wide on the left and picking his way through a packed box to slot home the equaliser.
With the game looking like it was heading extra time, it was Chris McLeish that won it for Jeanfield in the 79th minute, getting on the end of a ball flicked over the top of the defence, beating the offside trap, a slotting past Stuart Hall to take Swifts through and set up a 3rd round tie away at Edinburgh South.
08 October
EOSFL Premier Division
Moorside Park, Dundonald
Bluebell kept up their fine start to the league campaign with a controlled performance against a young looking Tynecastle side at Moorside Park. First half goals from Lumsden and Sibanda gave Dundonald a comfortable lead the break, Healey adding a third in the second half to seal all three points.
Tynecastle actually made a good start to the afternoon, threatening the Bluebell goal two or three times in the opening period of the game, but weren’t able to press home the advantage. Regan Lumsden made them pay the price on 20 minutes with a sweetly struck free-kick from the right hand angle of the box. The Tynecastle bench were a little unhappy that the foul was given in the first place, and it’s hard not to have some sympathy with them for what looked like six of one and half a dozen of the other. There can be no argument about the strike however, Lumsden's left-footed curler finding the top corner, leaving the keeper no chance.
Bluebell increased the lead ten minutes later, Healey at the front post flicking it on to the back, where Barry Sibanda arrived at the perfect moment, stooping to head home the second from point-blank range. Sibanda may be adapting to playing in a more defensive role these days, but he can still sniff out a scoring opportunity and he doesn’t miss chances like these.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first – Tynecastle enjoying a good start, playing on the front foot and causing their hosts a few headaches, but ultimately unable to find a breakthrough. Charlie King is building a decent young side at Meggetland and to be fair, they gave a good account of themselves, they just came up against a Bluebell side that are on a bit of a hot streak.
Daryl Healey rounder off the scoring with another towering header at the back post to put the finishing touches to the win, and keep Stephen Husband’s side in the hunt at the top half of the league table.
15 October
Cinch League 1
New Central Park, Kelty
Kelty racked up their third consecutive home win with a fine second half display against Clyde at New Central Park. After coming close a couple of times in the first half, strikes from Barjonas and Agyeman gave Kelty a perfect start to the second and despite Allan pulling one back, Kelty held on to take the 3 points.
It was a decent first half for the hosts, enjoying plenty of possession, but never quite being able to make the breakthrough. Agyeman had the ball in the net after 20 minutes, tapping home a Reis Peggie cross, but the flag was already up. Agyeman turned provider 5 minutes before the break, standing up a cross to the back post from Kallum Higginbotham, but it was just a fraction too high for him and the score line stayed blank at halftime.
Kelty picked up where they’d left off in the second half and had the lead within five minutes of the re-start. Nicky Lowe collected the ball wide on the right, found a yard of space a fizzed a low ball across the face of the box. Liam Scullion hesitated just half a second too long, Jamie Barjonas reacted in a flash to pinch the ball off his toe and fire the opener past Neil Parry.
Kelty doubled their lead just four minutes later and again it was Lowe that got things started with a quick ball out to Higginbotham on the right hand side. Higgy found Agyeman on the edge of the box, who looked like he’d tied himself in knots, before managing to dig the ball out of his feet and slamming a diagonal ball into the bottom corner.
It was no more than Kelty deserved at that point, but Jordan Allan give the visiting fans something to shout about 10 minutes later, with a fine diagonal run across the face of goal, then firing an angled shot past Jamieson to give Clyde a lifeline.
Kelty braced themselves for a late onslaught, but although Clyde give it a bit of a go, it never really came to anything, and in the end the Fifers were well worthy of the three points.
22 October
Scottish Cup 2nd Round
Beechwood Park, Sauchie
As Scottish Cup upsets go, this one might not have grabbed too many headlines, but East of Scotland League side Sauchie earned a well deserved spot in the 3rd Round draw thanks to a top drawer performance against their League 2 opponents. First half goals from Davidson, Columbine and Hutchinson set Sauchie on their way and although McGachie and Kahn dragged Rose back into it, Sauchie did enough to get through to the next round.
Sauchie were up for this one right from the very first whistle, taking the game to Bonnyrigg and were clearly not overawed by the occasion. The home side were on the front foot right from the off, committing men forward and playing a high-tempo game. It was a brave tactic and it paid off after 20 minutes, skipper Scott Davidson heading home a cross from the right hand side that came from a well worked free kick routine.
Despite the pouring rain in the Wee County, the home fans were enjoying their day, with some pyro adding to the atmosphere. On the park, their team were giving them plenty to cheer about. Ross Kavanagh had the ball in the net on 22 minutes, but the ref blew for a foul on the keeper, even though it looked like he’d dropped it all by himself.
The Rose defence were struggling with anything crossed into he box, and Sauchie seemed to sense this was their best chance of getting a second. Hutchinson thought he’d scored from another free-kick played deep into the box, but his header came back off the base of the post with the keeper well beaten, and Kavanaugh too went close from a Hutchinson cross. It was only a matter of time though, Sam Collumbine eventually doing the damage with another header from a corner on the right to make it 2-0 on the half hour.
That finally shook the Lowland League Champions into action though, Kieran McGachie taking advantage of some slack defending to pick his way into he box and slot home into the bottom corner and pull one back on 39 minutes.
Far from being deterred though, Sauchie went right up the other end and restored their two goal cushion, Hutchinson sliding in to force the ball past Mark Wier and make it 3-1 at the break.
Robbie Horn’s half time talk must have done the trick, because Bonnyrigg were much better in the second half. But Sauchie had something to hold onto, and in truth they seemed to deal pretty well with everything that Bonnyrigg could throw at them. Chic Bell was called into action on a few occasions in the Sauchie goal, but he did everything that was asked of him comfortably, and the lead never seemed to be in too much trouble.
Indeed, Sauchie looked just as likely to increase their lead, Davidson and Kavanagh both going close in a tight second half. When Rose did get a second, it was a little bit self-inflicted after some hesitant play in the Sauchie back line, Zach Khan nipping in to take advantage and make it 3-2. But by that time, it was too little too late and Sauchie only had to hold on for another couple of minutes to take well deserved win and get their names into the 3rd round draw.
29 October
Cinch League 1
East End Park, Dunfermline
The second Fife derby of the season finished in a narrow defeat for Kelty at East End Park. A contender for goal of the season from Darren Lyon gave the Kelty faithful hope after Nikolay Todorov had put the Pars in front. But a Craig Wighton strike early in the second half was enough for the league leaders to take all three points in front of their own fans.
Dunfermline came out of the blocks quickly, looking to stamp their authority on this one early doors, but in fact the first proper chance of the afternoon fell to Kelty. Form man Alfredo Agyeman was causing the Pars plenty of problems and beat Mehmet with a looping header only to see it come back off the crossbar. With the home defence static Higginbotham looked certain to tap home the loose ball but could only hit it into the side netting much to the keepers relief.
The Pars took the lead after 25 minutes when Wighton managed to get on the end of a direct ball in behind the Kelty defence and cut it back for Todorv who kept his head and passed it into the bottom corner. Todorov thought he’d doubled the lead two minutes later with a point-blank header, but Darren Jamieson dived to his left and plucked the ball out of the air to leave the striker with his head in his hands.
For a minute or two it looked like the Pars were turning up the heat, but Darren Lyon pulled Kelty level with a worldie from 25 yards. Nicky Lowe picked up possession on the edge of the box, but couldn’t find a gap to get his shot off. Just as it looked like he’d played himself into a dead-end, he laid it off to Barjonas, who switched play to the right and when it it eventually broke to Lyon, he curled his shot left footed into the far corner giving the keeper no chance.
Dunfermline finished the half strong, looking to regain the advantage before halftime, but Kelty were defending well and headed down the tunnel all square. The Pars grabbed the lead early in the second half, with a perfect ball inside the fullback for the runner, who squared it across the face of goal for Wighton to tap home.
The second half wasn’t quite as flowing as the first had been, with a more & more fouls starting to creep in as the derby atmosphere began to take hold. The ref had to flash a few yellow cards to both sides and for a moment it looked like things might get out of hand. This all broke up the rhythm of the game a little, which probably suited Dunfermline as it stopped Kelty from being able to build any momentum. There were still chances at both ends, Kelty’s best falling to Higginbotham from a ball fizzed in from the right but he couldn’t get enough on it and ended up scooping it over the bar from 5 yards out.
There’s been a noticeable improvement in John Potter’s side since the opening weeks of the season, Kelty now playing with confidence and purpose. In the end, they will feel they’d done enough to take something from the game, but the finishing just wasn’t up to scratch on the day. Although they’ll be disappointed with the result, they can be happy with their performance against the title favourites.
