FROST again played havoc with the local junior football programme with all five games involving local sides postponed.

It means now that the Scottish Junior Cup third round replay between Lochore Welfare and Forth Wanderers will go on at Crosshill this Saturday, weather permitting, with the third round ties between Hill of Beath Hawthorn and Auchinleck Talbot, at Keirs Park, and the Crossgates Primrose v Beith matches also sheduled.

The only game at all played involving a Central Fife side was the East of Scotland League game between Leith Athletic and Kelty Hearts which saw Hearts have to work hard to maintain their 100 per cent league record.

Leith Athletic 0,

Kelty Hearts 2.

HEARTS had their hardest East of Scotland League game of the season in this match played at Peffermill, in Edinburgh.

The all weather surface got the game on but it provided a challenge for both teams after beating the severe frost that had accounted for so many games on Saturday.

It meant that the early stages of the match saw the teams have to adjust to the conditions and there were not a lot of good openings but Leith brought Scott Christie into action with an angled shot.

However, gradually Hearts started to get a grip of the midfield and they started to work some decent openings against a team who had won nine out of 10 games before the match.

There were a couple of good chances with both Errol Douglas and Stuart Cargill going close for the visitors and the breakthrough came when Douglas got on to a corner and fired an eight yard header into the net which delighted the big Hearts’ support.

Leith came back at them though and Murray Carstairs and his colleagues in defence had to keep their concentration to avoid any leveller but before the break Hearts went two up, when from another corner, Conrad Courts headed home after making a diagonal run across the Leith six yard box.

In the second period Kelty again had some good possession but the final pass would often let them down and Leith were very much still in the picture.

Christie had a fine save and two other shots went close but Kelty defended well for the remainder of the game and left Edinburgh with the result they needed.

Hearts are on 36 points, 15 clear of Lothian Thistle who have five games in hand and eight clear of Leith who have a game in hand.

Hearts boss Thomas Courts was delighted with the win and Tweeted: “A good performance against good opposition on a very tricky surface. The number of travelling Kelty fans was impressive yet again”.

Saturday’s fixtures: Scottish Junior Cup third round replay, Lochore Welfare v Forth Wanderers. Scottish Junior cup third round, Hill of Beath Hawthorn v Auchinleck Talbot, Crossgates Primrose v Beith Juniors. East Super League, Dundonald Bluebell v Boness United. South Division, Armadale Thistle v Lochgelly Albert (all games 1.30pm).

East of Scotland League, Kelty Hearts v Stirling University (2pm).