Kelty Hearts reach Junior Cup last 16 with eight goal hammering of Renfrew

KELTY Hearts issued a statement of intent as they thrashed Renfrew to reach the last 16 of this season’s Junior Cup on Saturday.

Stephen Husband and Callum Smith both hit hat-tricks during a memorable afternoon at Central Park, as further strikes from Scott Dalziel and Stuart Cargill gave Thomas Courts’ side an impressive win to keep their hopes of lifting the trophy for the first time alive.

The Jambos have twice been runners-up in the competition, in 1999 and most recently 2007, but the way in which they dismantled their shell-shocked opponents in front of a bumper crowd in excess of 500 will give them belief that they can go one better this year.

Courts said: “I think that the boys showed real intent on Saturday and the Scottish Cup is very much on our radar.

“We’re not going to start making any rash statements because there are a lot of top teams left but the players showed a real desire and, apart from the first 10 minutes when they started better, we were very dominant.

“It was an emphatic performance and victory and although we won against Carnoustie and St Andrews before Christmas and then Newtongrange, my small gripe was that we were passing up a lot of opportunities. The first goal came at a good time as that settled us down and got us in a groove.

“I think subconsciously last year we put all our eggs in the Super League basket because we were so desperate to win the league. We maybe dropped a couple of per cent in the cups but this year we have more strength in depth. I was able to rotate the squad and give a few players some game time and I think we’ve got a stronger squad to challenge in the cups as well as trying to defend our title.”

Freezing temperatures and snow had combined to wipe out a number of the weekend’s sporting fixtures, including Oakley’s tie with Carnoustie Panmure and Rosyth’s South Division clash with Pumpherston Juniors, but an army of volunteers cleared Central Park’s synthetic surface to ensure the match went ahead.

The home players appeared to be on a mission to repay their efforts and by half-time, Renfrew may have been wishing the snow had won the day as Kelty found themselves three goals to the good before firing a second-half avalanche.

The opener arrived just 15 minutes in when ex-Pars midfielder Husband fired a free kick into the top corner beyond flat-footed goalkeeper Mark Baird, before Dalziel added a second with a right-foot volley after a fine cross from Scott Gates on the left.

Renfrew, winners of the cup in 2001, had no answer to the maroon tide and it was no surprise that they conceded a third on the stroke of half-time when Husband’s low drive from the edge of the box left Baird standing and found the bottom corner.

The game was as good as over but goal-hungry Kelty proceeded to inflict further damage on their opponents after the break, with Smith getting his name on the scoresheet after 49 minutes when he headed home unmarked from a corner.

Smith then scored his second and Kelty’s fifth with a looping header across goal at the far post before Cargill, last season’s top goalscorer, made it six with 11 minutes to go when he took advantage of a loose ball inside the Renfrew box to fire low into the net.

Husband completed his hat-trick soon afterwards with a shot from distance that Baird couldn’t keep out before Smith fired home his third from 12 yards after being picked out unmarked in the penalty area after a flowing move on the right.

Courts added: “To get the third goal before half-time put us in a strong position and the message to the players was that the first-half performance was pretty awesome but they had shown resilience to almost come back from three goals down last week.

“When Callum got the fourth I started to relax but the hunger and desire the boys showed was tremendous. As soon as Renfrew took the kick off after each goal, they were right on top of them trying to win the ball back.

“There were outstanding individual performances from Callum and Stephen Husband. I’m really pleased for Stephen; it has been a tough transition for him on and off the pitch and he has found himself out of the team but his professionalism has never been in question. Saturday was reward for his patience and professionalism.

“I was really proud of the performance but we’ve got a number of big games coming up and we need to keep that up going to Broxburn on Saturday. It’s an important period of the season and it’ll be a tough game but we’re going there in high spirits.”

Saturday’s fixtures (kick-offs 1.45pm): ETHX Energy Scottish Junior Cup fourth round – Oakley United v Carnoustie Panmure. McBookie.com Super League – Broxburn Athletic v Kelty Hearts. McBookie.com South Division – Stoneyburn Juniors v Rosyth.