Scottish League One: Three things we learned as two points split the top three
Last-gasp goals determined a week of drama in matchday eight of Scotland’s third tier…
Agyeman slots home the decisive goal as Kelty deliver shock win over Airdrie
An Alfredo Agyeman strike with five minutes left on the clock ensured Kelty Hearts would seal all three points in their first league meeting with Airdrieonians at New Central Park.
Victory for the Maroon Machine enabled them to close the gap on eighth-placed Clyde with the Fife club only behind the Bully Wee on goal-difference. Meanwhile, for the Diamonds, it means they lose momentum at the top of the table, with the Lanarkshire club having slipped a further point behind Dunfermline.
However, they have the opportunity to rectify that on Tuesday evening with a trip to face Montrose, where a win could see them replace the Pars as league leaders. For Kelty, it is a visit to the Meadowbank Stadium next Saturday as they go head-to-head with familiar rivals, FC Edinburgh.
Kelty Hearts manager, John Potter: “I thought we deserved it. First-half, it was difficult, Airdrie were moving the ball around and looking a threat, so we had to keep a good shape and try and hit the counter-attack. In the second-half, we were the better team and dominated the game.”
Airdrieonians player-manager, Rhys McCabe: “Sloppy on our part. We said at half-time and we knew before the game that the only way they [Kelty] would get a chance, would be through a set-piece or a long ball. We knew what the threat was and we didn’t do enough to own the game.”
Pars fail to strengthen grip at the top in stunning late Blue Toon comeback
Rhys Breen broke the deadlock for the Pars in the 67th minute before Nikolay Todorov added a second and seemingly secured the victory with six minutes remaining. However, Jason Brown pulled a goal back in the 87th minute and Michael Hewitt clinched the unlikely equaliser in the fourth minute of injury time to share the spoils.
The draw sees the Aberdeenshire side cut the deficit at the bottom to two points, ahead of their game in hand away to Edinburgh on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, it is one win in the last five matches for Dunfermline, who are hanging onto top-spot by a thin thread- and could well lose their status by the time they visit Alloa next weekend.
Dunfermline Athletic manager, James McPake: “Very disappointing. We were flat, we were sloppy and with the two goals, we should’ve seen the game out. We need to go back on the training pitch and be better.”
FC Edinburgh snatch victory at the death to return to winning ways
Ouzy See opened the scoring for the Citizens in the first 120 seconds while Harry Milne equalised for the Gable Endies’ six minutes before the interval. Danny Handling slotted home the winner with two minutes of normal time remaining, ensuring his side would ultimately take the three points back to the capital.
The win for Alan Maybury’s men sees them climb to second-place with a golden chance to go top on Wednesday night when they welcome Peterhead to Meadowbank. However, defeat for Montrose, means they suffer back-to-back league defeats and slip to sixth, three points outside the play-off positions. They are on the road to Clyde next Saturday, but before that, they welcome Airdrie to Links Park on Tuesday.
Montrose manager, Stewart Petrie: “Similar to the Alloa match, we kept pushing and pushing, but we got caught on the break. They [Edinburgh] are a good side and have won a lot of games, which just goes to show how tight this league is. We just need to pick ourselves up and go again.”
FC Edinburgh manager, Alan Maybury: “I thought first-half, we were excellent and could’ve been out of sight with the chances we had. I said at half-time that we didn’t deserve to be level. I felt we didn’t play enough in the second-half, but we got that little bit of quality to win the game.”
Elsewhere, Falkirk climbed into the play-off spots with a 2-0 win over Clyde at The Falkirk Stadium, while at Palmerston, Queen of the South and Alloa Athletic couldn’t be separated.
Scottish League One Results:
Dunfermline Athletic 2-2 Peterhead
Falkirk 2-0 Clyde
Kelty Hearts 1-0 Airdrieonians
Montrose 1-2 FC Edinburgh
Queen of the South 1-1 Alloa Athletic
Scottish League One: As It Stands