Kelty Hearts welcome Queen’s Park to New Central Park in the first home game of the competitive 2026/27 campaign.

It’s a quick turnaround for Kelty Hearts, after picking up the bonus point in a 1-1 draw in Dumfries midweek action awaits in match day two of the Premier Sports Cup.

Opponents Queen’s Park will be keen to keep their unbeaten start to the campaign going after defeating Highland League champions 3-1 on Saturday. The Spiders overcame an early scare when Sam Nixon put the visitors ahead after 16 minutes, however goals from Aidan Connolly, Michael Ruth and Nikolay Todorov saw the Championship side come out on top.

For Kelty, it was a positive start to the campaign by winning the bonus point following a 1-1 draw with League One Queen of the South. A vintage Ross Cunningham finish was quickly cancelled out after three minutes by Doonhamers striker/manager Nicky Clark.

Jamie Smith was the hero on Saturday making three saves in Kelty’s 4-3 shoot-out victory. Jack Stott, Jack Hannah and Zander Mackenzie all saw their penalties saved by Smith, making his competitive debut in Maroon.

With manager Sean Crighton going into his second season in the Lesser Hampden dugout, he will have ambitions of keeping Queen’s Park away from safety for another campaign. They have bolstered their squad with the signings of Jack Hamilton, Scott Martin, David Mitchell and Ben Brannan to replace the big losses of goalkeeper Callum Ferrie and winger Seb Drozd.

Previewing the match to Kelty Hearts TV, manager Thomas O’Ware said: “Over the weekend the boys are going to rest up, everyone in the competition faces those midweek games. Tuesday night will be another incredibly tough game against Championship opposition, but again it will test us and stretch us. It’s a competition we want to face.”

Written by: Jamie Szmitz

Photography: Kevin Marshall (@KayemPhoto)