Published: Thursday, 19th June, 2008 09:00
Kelty cup kings again
By Ally McRoberts
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HEARTS’ cup final win over Hibs turned Kelty’s players into 24-hour party people as they celebrated Friday night’s triumph well into the weekend.
Stevie Leighton’s men picked up the Maloco + associates Cup after beating Thornton Hibs 2-0 in their last game of the season.
The Kelty Hearts boss explained, “We went into Kelty after the final and had a good time but we kept it going as it was the players’ presentation night on the Saturday.
“We’ve finished seventh in the Super League, the top Fife team, we’ve lifted a local cup and signed five players during the season so we’re really looking forward to next season now.”
Kelty faced a tough task as, although they were facing a team two divisions below them, Hibs had taken some major scalps on their way to the Scottish Junior Cup semi-final.
And they were helped on their way by a disputed penalty which was won and converted by John Martin.
Leighton said, “From where I was standing I thought the defender caught him. I can understand people thinking it was soft but these things even themselves out and we deserved a break.”
Russell Smart settled the match with five minutes left but the Kelty boss said he was never worried about the outcome.
“We treated it like our last game and we weren’t in any danger of losing the game against a big physical side,” he explained.
“It was a disciplined performance, we were always in control and I think our keeper only had one save to make in the whole match.
“I can see how they’ve beaten teams one or two leagues above them but we were comfortable throughout and tried to win the cup instead of just piling forward to get more goals.”
The cup winners will now be ‘rewarded’ with a summer break of just three weeks before the hard work starts all over again.
Leighton said, “We normally give them four weeks but we’ll probably be back in three as I think the Super League will be even stronger next term. It might be hard to win the league when you see the sort of money the top sides can spend but we’re striving towards that and the committee has been brilliant.
“In a few years time we might be capable of winning the Super League. We’ve got the quality in the squad to do it, I firmly believe that, but we might not have the resources that the new managers at the likes of Tayport, Camelon and Linlithgow will be after.”
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