KELTY HEARTS skipper Michael Tidser admitted that ending Saturday’s festive Fife derby on the losing side was “a sore one to take”.

The 32-year-old, however, has called on the New Central Park squad to “stick together” ahead of what he believes will be an important period of fixtures if they are to chase down the promotion play-off spots.

Although they remain eighth following the defeat to Dunfermline, the promoted League Two champions are just six points behind Airdrieonians, who occupy fourth place and the final spot in the Championship play-off zone.

This afternoon, they travel to Alloa Athletic – five points above Kelty in sixth – looking to end a year that saw them win the fourth-tier title, in their first season as an SPFL club, on a high.

Games against Clyde, Airdrie and Montrose, as well as an SPFL Trust Trophy quarter-final at Queen of the South, will follow, and former Greenock Morton star Tidser said: “We’ve obviously gone a goal ahead, and I felt at the time we deserved to be.

“I thought we were in control of the game in the sense of keeping that, we were probably creating more chances, but that’s why they’re top of the league.

“We were there last season, obviously in the league below, and you find a way to win games of football. I take my hat off to them but, from our perspective, we’re really disappointed.

“They’ve got a big squad, bring on a bit of height, and obviously we were missing big Fozzy today, big Jordon Forster, who’s been a colossus for us this season. That’s his bread and butter; he’d have relished stuff like that.

“There’s no excuses. We go home disappointed but we just need to stick together. The next four or five weeks are really important if we want to keep climbing that table.

“I thought, even in the first half at times, we were probably in control of it without creating much; they were trying to hit us on the break. Second half, I thought we came out, showed fresh impetus, really got after them, got the goal, and it’s just trying to hang on to these leads and finding a way and managing games.

“I felt, at times, we showed a bit of immaturity in the way we were slashing things away, not really putting our foot on it, myself included, just calming the game down and trying to get past that 60-,70- minute mark and seeing it through.”

Tidser continued: "You learn every week in football. You're constantly learning when you play against different sides.
"First half, their system was causing myself a wee bit of an issue, but we dealt with it. You deal with it on the park, you deal with it at half-time, but, overall, we're disappointed. That's football.

"It's all well and good having good performances, but you need to get points."

His boss, John Potter, was disappointed his team had nothing to show for their efforts despite contributing plenty to an absorbing derby.

“I’d rather have the result,” he replied, when it was put to him that Kelty have performed well against the full-time teams in the division this season.

“We have competed in games, and the games have been quite close, quite tight, but that’s why Dunfermline are top of the league, because they win these games. That’s something we could do a wee bit better and, when we’re not at our best, we’re not moving the ball well, can we dig results out, and can we keep a clean sheet? We need to be better at that.”

Potter, who noted that the ill Forster, Nicky Low, who was out with a groin issue, and Jason Thomson, who has been absent since suffering concussion at Airdrie last month, could be back for today's game, said of the Wasps: “It’ll be very tough, they’re a good team.

"They’re a club and a team we need to try and get to something like because they’re effective, top end of League One and the Championship. It’s a club we should look at."