Kelty Hearts 0 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 0
Kelty Hearts boss Tam O’Ware insists his players’ attitude has “never once” wavered as they continue to fight for their League One lives, after holding leaders Inverness Caledonian Thistle to a goalless draw at New Central Park.
The Maroon Machine remain bottom of the league after extending their unbeaten run with a fourth straight league draw, frustrating the division’s top team with a disciplined, hard‑working display.
“They’ve never done anything apart from buy in to what we want to do,” O'Ware said. “They’ve never once complained and every single week their attitude has been better.
For the first 20 minutes, there was little between the two sides. Caley Thistle were on the front foot more often, but the home side did well to withstand the pressure.
Unfortunately for Kelty, the first half followed a familiar pattern to the rest of the season, with flashes of quick, possession football but a lack of cutting edge in the final third.
From then until half-time, it was mostly the visitors who threatened. A whipped cross from the left met a Caley head but was turned just past the post. A rare lapse in the Maroon Machine’s otherwise solid back line then saw Dylan Corr play the ball straight to Alfie Stewart, who laid it off to Calum MacLeod, but the right‑back’s strike was straight at Kyle Gourlay.
The final 15 minutes of the half saw sustained Caley pressure, with left back Oscar MacIntyre posing the main threat through a series of pinpoint crosses. One dangerous bit of footwork led to Pars-loanee Sam Fisher fouling him near the byline, but Kelty’s defence stood firm, clearing a goal-bound header off the line just before the interval.
The player/manager was thrilled with how his side stood up to the challenge of facing the league leaders.
“First half, I thought we were excellent. I’m really delighted with how we did play,” he said. “We had a lot of spells in possession and control. For 90 minutes, our structure, the energy, the desire to go pressing and be hard to beat was excellent.”
“We didn’t have a squad capable of competing before and we knew that, especially with injuries and budgets and stuff like that. But now we’ve improved certain areas.
“We’re still short in a lot of areas, like up front, but we’re trying to manipulate things to play and impose more of a threat.”
The home side's resolute display continued after the restart, again absorbing long spells of pressure. A moment of panic came when Gourlay’s misplaced pass fell straight to Jordan Alonge, whose first-time shot sailed high over the open goal.
Kelty then produced their best moment of the game - a neat passing move ending with Ross Cunningham’s 30-yard strike that forced Ross Munro into a fumble before he gathered at the second attempt.
That proved to be a rare attacking highlight, as most of the game remained pinned in Kelty’s half. The closest Inverness came was when Jack Brydon’s header looped towards his own net, forcing Fisher to clear off the line after Gourlay was caught out.
After repelling wave after wave of crosses, the home side created one final opportunity in the dying moments. Substitutes James Graham and Cameron Cooper combined well, but Cooper’s effort was blocked by an Inverness defender.
The final whistle brought a well‑earned point for O’Ware’s men, as they still chase that elusive first home league win of the season.
Inverness arrived as favourites and, in the Kelty player‑manager’s eyes, as the standard‑bearers in the division.
“Inverness are the best team in the league,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a challenge but it’s one that I thought was another opportunity for us to get something out of the game.
"It’s another game where we showed we can go and compete, and I thought we did that for 90 minutes.”
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