Kelty Hearts need to be "better in both boxes" if they're to take anything from the Premier Sports Cup.
That's the verdict of manager, Tam O'Ware, who said that his team need to threaten their opponents more when they have the ball.
He was speaking after last Tuesday's Premier Sports Cup Group A match with Queen's Park, in which they conceded two goals inside the final 20 minutes, to fall to a 2-0 loss.
That came after a 1-1 draw at Queen of the South, in which Kelty earned a bonus point by winning the resultant penalty shoot-out, and ahead of their next game with Brora Rangers tomorrow (Tuesday).
The Maroon Machine round off their campaign at top flight Aberdeen on Saturday and, in their opening two games, O'Ware saw plenty to encourage him.
He was particularly pleased with their display at the League One Doonhamers, and for an hour against the Championship Spiders, but was disappointed with the nature of the goals conceded against the latter.
"We want to have the ball but we want to have purpose with the ball, and we need to threaten the backline more," he observed.
"The first half, we were comfortable in the game in possession. We built out a few times really nicely, but, again, it's the next bit. It's that final third that we need forward runners, we need people accessing behind the lines, and then we need bodies in the box.
"That's the wee bit that we need to improve on because, for as much possession as we had in the first half, we didn't do enough of it.
"When you give a side like Queen's Park, with the quality they've got, unmarked players in the box, they're going to hurt you.
"We need to eradicate those errors defensively. There's no point having all the ball and being an attractive team, if you're going to concede goals like that.
"It's a good lesson to learn, in the Premier Sports Cup, because, again, you're coming up against top opposition, but it needs to be better in both boxes."
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