It was a disappointing afternoon at New Central Park on Saturday as Hamilton ran out 4-0 winners.  In a match to forget, the Maroon Machine found themselves 3-0 down in 20 minutes with Aaron Arnott dismissed in the first half.

John Rankin’s side were sixth coming into this one with Kelty lower in ninth.  Kelty Hearts have never beaten the Accies in a league game and that record still stands.

The travelling support didn’t have to wait long to see their side take the lead.  Kyle MacDonald was teed up by Connor Smith to curl in a fantastic effort looping over Ryan Adamson.  

Just 12 minutes into the match the visitors were two to the good.  This time from a corner, Smith played a short pass with Hutton and then finished similarly well curling into the top corner.

The third goal came from the penalty spot and was converted by Oli Shaw.  After Lewis Carroll was judged to control a pass with his arm, Shaw sent Adamson the wrong way to pile on the misery for Kelty.

Things went from bad to worse in the 35th minute when Aaron Arnott was shown a straight red card.  The Kelty midfielder dived into a challenge with Cale Loughrey which the referee deemed to be reckless and high.  

Nine minutes after the restart, Connor Smith’s second put the Accies into an unassailable lead.  MacDonald’s shot from distance was parried by Adamson and Smith was quickest to react to poke home.

Reflecting on the match to Kelty Hearts TV, Thomas O’Ware said “what went wrong today goes down to heart.  For me, despite the problems with injuries, the ones on the pitch aren’t showing enough heart, so that’ll be the main focus for the next few weeks.”

Written by: Jamie Szmitz

Photography: Kevin Marshall (@KayemPhoto)