Kelty Hearts were defeated 1-0 in the third match of the Premier Sports Cup group campaign on Tuesday night as Max Barry’s first half stunner separated the two sides.  The Maroon Machine were not able to build on the huge victory and performance against Hibernian last time out as the visitors managed to see out a narrow victory.

The only goal of the evening came in the 28th minute.  After regaining the ball just inside the Kelty half, the Blue Toon worked the ball to Barry at the corner of the box who opened up his body and curled it beautifully into the far top corner leaving Ryan Adamson rooted to the spot.  

Shortly before the opener, Kelty came the closest to scoring when Scott Allan picked out Lewis Moore with a floated free-kick.  Moore brought it down with his head inside the box, then weaved around two defenders before getting his shot away which Peterhead ‘keeper Blessing Oluyemi initially let slip behind him but was quick to stop the shot creeping over the line. 

The visitors were doing well to restrict Kelty’s chances in the second half.  The closest there came to an equaliser was in the 83rd minute and again came from a Scott Allan set piece.  The midfielder swung in a corner and found Tam O’Ware who flicked a header towards the path of Johnstone, however he couldn’t connect to the ball. 

Luke McCarvel told the club’s media team after the game that the squad are “really disappointed we couldn’t win the game to have a chance of qualifying on Saturday.”  

Written By: Jamie Szmitz

Photography: Kevin Marshall (@KayemPhoto)