Forfar Athletic 1 Kelty Hearts 0

KEVIN THOMSON has told his Kelty Hearts stars that their strong league placing is "only a position" and that the campaign is far from over.

The New Central Park outfit, who host Cowdenbeath tomorrow evening, lost their third League Two match of the season at nearest challengers Forfar Athletic on Saturday.

Matthew Aitken's goal seventeen minutes from time handed the Loons a victory that saw them close the gap on their table-topping opponents to six points, having played two games more, ahead of Kelty's clash with the Blue Brazil.

Thomson felt his team "got what we deserved" at Station Park, despite having opportunities to score.

Nathan Austin teed up Kallum Higginbotham around 12 yards out in the opening period, which was blocked out by the home defence, with the former unfortunate to head over whilst under pressure from Andy Munro.

At the other end, former Dunfermline player, PJ Crossan, did well to get a shot off and force a decent stop from Darren Jamieson shortly before the interval, whilst Forfar keeper, Marc McCallum, saved well from Austin after he robbed Munro and ran in on goal after half-time.

The goal that decided the contest saw Stefan McCluskey dispossess Michael Tidser and midfield and move the ball to the right for Craig Thomson, whose low ball across the six-yard box was tapped home by Aitken at the far post.

Joe Cardle and Tam O'Ware both tried to find a leveller, but one was not forthcoming, and Thomson told Kelty Hearts TV post-match: "We got what we deserved.

"(We had) big chances - Fash (Austin), massive chances, never put the ball in the back of the net - and then, their goal, giving the ball away in the middle of the pitch, turning it over, and before you know it, they're down the side, they get in behind us and it's a tap-in at the back post.

"I've challenged them all in there, listen, if you want to play in this team, you need to have personality. You need to be streetwise, you need to stick your chest out, and if you want to win titles, whether it's Lowland League, League Two, League One, Championship, Premier League, you need to show the minerals that you've got the personality the character to go the distance.

"It's getting to the squeaky bum part of the time, it's who's going to have the minerals, who's going to have the personality and the character to get over the line. We've been under no illusion as a group how long we've got to go and how far we've got to go.

"Yes, we're in a good position, but it's only a position. I think people think that I, a wee bit, play things down, but I've told the players since day one that you've got a long, long way to go.

"You win titles over the course of 36 games, not being 10 or 15 points clear at Christmas or whatever."

Thomson, who revealed that Jordon Forster is set to be missing "for some time" with a hamstring problem picked up in last weekend's Scottish Cup defeat at St Mirren, is anticipating a tough derby clash tomorrow night.

Maurice Ross' Blue Brazil defeated Elgin City on Saturday to move within six points of the men from Borough Briggs, and safety, with three games in hand.

Kelty have won both encounters between the sides so far this term, but Thomson warned: "We'll regroup, we'll look after the boys and we'll go again Tuesday. They've had another good result so we're under no illusion how tough it will be.

"They're always up for it. I know Mo really well. Every game we've played against Cowdenbeath's tough.

"We've not had an easy game in League Two, apart from pre-season, when we had a couple of games pre-season and it can get that pre-seasony feel.

"Every game we've had since we've been in charge here has been competitive, it's been tough. Yeah, we've won games easier than other games, but to get in front, it was tough.

"I think teams, as you know, when they go two or three behind sometimes heads can go down, so sometimes the scoreline can be a false reflection on the game.

"Today we played against a good team, well organised, they fought for every ball and, the harsh reality is, they fought a wee bit harder than us."

Match stats

Forfar Athletic: McCallum, Meechan, Whyte, Munro (Fisher 83), Brindley (Strachan 38), Thomson (Anderson 83), Slater, Hutton, Crossan, Aitken (Shepherd 87), McCluskey.

Subs not used: Hussain, Harkins, Sanderson, Moore.

Goal: Aitken (73).

Booked: Slater (58), McCluskey (58).

Kelty Hearts: Jamieson, Finlayson, Hooper, O'Ware, Ngwenya, Barjonas, Tidser, Philp (Reilly 66), Higginbotham (Cardle 75), Agyeman (Biabi 75), Austin.

Subs not used: Black, Peggie, McNab, Donaldson.

Booked: Reilly (81).

Referee: Alan Newlands.

Attendance: 670.