Published: Thursday, 12th June, 2008 08:45
Kelty ready for final
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KELTY have no time for Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry Henry as they have a Hearts vs Hibs Friday night showdown to look forward to.
Stevie Leighton’s men face Scottish Cup shock troops Thornton Hibs in the final of the Maloco + associates Cup but isn’t worried it clashes with France v Holland.
The Euro 2008 match clashes with the final tomorrow but Kelty are sure plenty of fans will turn off the TV to follow them in their last quest for silverware.
Leighton shrugged, “I’ve always liked Friday night games and, OK we might lose out because of the Euro championships being on, it’s not as if it’s Scotland playing.
“It’s just down the road from us in Hill of Beath so I’m sure we’ll have a good crowd down from Kelty to cheer us on.”
Thornton finished fourth in the Whyte and Mackay East Central Division but marched all the way to the semi-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup before losing after extra time to Cumnock.
And Kelty’s boss said, “There’s two leagues between us but they’ll get the utmost respect from us after the teams they’ve beaten in the Scottish Cup.
“I’ve seen who they have playing for them and if they keep the same team they won’t be in that league for long.”
It’s Kelty’s last chance for a cup this season after they lost 3-0 at Bonnyrigg in the East of Scotland cup semi-final on Saturday.
The final kicks off at Keirs Park, Hill of Beath, at 7.15pm.
Leighton explained, “We were down to the bare bones, 13 players, but that’s not an excuse as they deserved to win.
“From our point of view it was lessons learned as when you play these top teams you’ve really got to take your chances because they’ll come back at you.
“There wasn’t 3-0 in it, it was much closer than that, but they’re a good side and after beating Bathgate it was the hardest place we could have gone to.”
The Kelty boss was chuffed his side progressed as far as they did in that competition and is already looking forward to next season, regardless of tomorrow’s result.
“I’d be disappointed if we didn’t finish off with a cup but I’m really excited about next season as we’ve signed some fine players since October and have the nucleus of a good squad,” he said.
Rosyth Recreation were also in action on Saturday but it was a day to forget for Paul Mooney’s men as they lost 4-0 at Montrose Roselea.
Relegation from the Whyte and Mackay East Region Premier League had previously been confirmed and the Recs boss is already planning for next season.
Rosyth finished bottom of the pile with no home wins out of 22 league matches – they managed two away – and Oakley United will take their place after their demotion from the Super League.
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