Kelty Hearts 4 Lochee United 1

THOMAS COURTS believes it is an “exciting time” to be a Kelty Hearts player after they moved 20 points clear at the Super League summit.

The runaway leaders cruised past mid-table Lochee United on Saturday.

Goals from Jordan Moore, Murray Carstairs and Brian Ritchie had the game won by half-time and, although Bryan Deasley pulled one back, Archie Campbell added his name to the scoresheet to complete a fine afternoon’s work.

Courts told Press Sport: “I must praise the players because they have focused on one game at a time and know that to make games of importance, they have to win their bread and butter fixtures.

“Newtongrange over the last couple of years were one of our biggest challengers but remind me of the team I inherited at Kelty. They gave us a very tough game at New Central Park though so we’ll be prepared and give them the respect they deserve.

“It’s a big incentive and chance for us to go 23 points clear with Bonnyrigg playing in the cup again; it would be a phenomenal points gap in February.

“Bonnyrigg are like us; they’re competing on multiple fronts, with the same number of weeks left but with more games to play. We just need to keep handling our business each Saturday.”

Kelty remain unbeaten this season in all competitions and their chances of going all the way in the Junior Cup were boosted by being handed another home tie.

Kilwinning Rangers will visit New Central Park on February 18 in a repeat of the 1999 final, which Hearts lost 1-0, but the Ayrshire side are currently bottom of the West Region Super Premier Division.

However, Courts cautioned: “It’s a home tie, which we were hoping for, but it is a bit of an unknown quantity from the west. They’re having a tough time just now but they’re still a Super League team and are a well-known name in the west.

“The Hill of Beath game showed that there is plenty of interest in the cup so I hope it’ll be another big crowd; I’m sure they’ll bring a big support with them.

“It is an exciting time; the players are already commenting on it and it is exciting for the fans. After Hill of Beath, this is one you’d hand-pick to keep the games big and we could potentially play 24-25 games in all competitions in 28 weeks.

“Games continue to get bigger and the players are excited.”

Craigroyston 3 Crossgates Primrose 1

CROSSGATES’ winless South Division run stretched to five games as they fell to defeat at Craigroyston.

It was an unhappy return to the capital for Humbug boss Andy Brown, who bossed the Edinburgh-based outfit last season.

After a 1-1 draw with Rosyth last time out, Crossgates were hopeful of moving closer to the top half of the table but they didn’t start well at St Mark’s Park as they fell behind after just nine minutes thanks to wideman Gary Dolan’s goal.

The home side doubled their advantage in the 25th minute through Gary Calvey and Chris Taylor made it 3-0 10 minutes into the second half. Substitute Scott Devaney netted five minutes after coming on for Wayne Beveridge but the mountain was too high for Crossgates to climb as they dropped to 11th in the table.

Brown commented: "Individual mistakes cost us again and gave them two goals. We started the second half all over them but then they break up the park to make it 3-0.

"Three times we had a stramash in the box where we hit the bar, hit the post and had one saved, but we had a couple of really good individual performances and Stuart Donaldson played 90 minutes; it's a bonus getting him back.

"Their goalkeeper made a few good saves and we were missing Darren Carroll, who has been one of our best players. We missed him in the middle of the park.

"We're looking forward to Saturday. Edinburgh are under new management but it should be a close game."

Easthouses Lily 3 Oakley United 1

OAKLEY boss Lee Richardson lamented his side’s “really disappointing” first-half display as they crashed to defeat at Easthouses Lily.

The Blairwood Park men’s four-game unbeaten run – which included three straight wins – came to an end after an insipid opening 45 minutes that saw them two goals behind.

A strong showing after the interval was not enough to turn the contest around and Richardson admitted that defeat to the side immediately above United in the table was a poor one.

Lewis Russell fired the home side ahead early on before Steven Ferguson doubled the advantage before the break.

Oakley regrouped and started the second half strongly but were caught on the counter attack as Ferguson scored his second and Easthouses’ third.

The visitors continued to press and although Derrick Murray finally pulled one back with 15 minutes to go, they couldn’t find another two goals to salvage something from the match.

Richardson said: “It was a poor result and I was really disappointed with our first half performance. The park was really heavy and our style of football didn’t suit it but they adapted to the conditions better.

“We’ve got Pumpherston on Saturday, who are second in the league. We need to raise our game but we tend to do that against the better teams.”

Stoneyburn 1 Rosyth 2

ROSYTH made it three games unbeaten after they picked up a battling victory at bottom side Stoneyburn Juniors on Saturday.

The game was initially scheduled as a home tie for the Rec but, with uncertainty continuing over where they will play ahead of a proposed move to the Fleet Grounds, it was switched to the West Lothian club’s Beechwood Park.

That didn’t hinder Kevin Smith and Barry Cockburn’s outfit as they maintained their undefeated start to the new year after a quick start.

It took Rosyth just nine minutes to open the scoring thanks to Gregg Page and, despite pressure from the home side, they made it 2-0 in the 38th minute thanks to Matthew Dawson.

Ben Mackay headed home a corner just before the break to give Stoneyburn hope but, despite enjoying plenty of possession, they struggled to test the visiting goalkeeper and Rosyth move to within five points of seventh-placed Oakley United.

Saturday’s fixtures (kick-offs 2pm): McBookie.com Super League – Newtongrange Star v Kelty Hearts. McBookie.com South Division – Crossgates Primrose v Edinburgh United, Oakley United v Pumpherston Juniors, Rosyth v Dunbar United.