Albion Rovers boss Brian Reid was pleased with how his side coped with runaway League Two leaders Kelty Hearts – despite conceding a goal inside 35 seconds and suffering a 3-1 loss.
Nathan Austin handed Kevin Thomson’s side the lead in under a minute as the Wee Rovers were left with it all to do. It was the striker’s sixth goal in three games against Reid’s men.
Jamie Barjonas doubled Kelty’s lead before half-time but there was hope for the Cliftonhill side on the hour-mark as Callum Wilson netted.
Rovers made it difficult for their hosts but eventually Barjonas claimed his brace six minutes from time to move within three wins of the League Two title. It leaves the Coatbridge side ninth and seven points above basement club Cowdenbeath.
The pair will do it all again tonight at Cliftonhill in a rearranged league match and Reid was pleased with how his side managed on Saturday.
He said: “We had the worst possible start and we go a goal down. It was difficult conditions and we then lose a poor second goal. We created far more chances in the second half.
“We got our goal back and missed a few sitters in the half too, before shooting ourselves in the foot again for the third goal. There are a lot of positives to take against a decent Kelty team who have got a decent squad and budget.
“In the second half we held our own and gave it as good as we got. I think in the second half, our goalkeeper - Cammy Binnie - had only one save to make.
“You need to take your chances when you’re on top. The reason Kelty are top is that they have a number of players in different positions who can punish you.
“They put the ball in the net for any mistakes you make. These players obviously cost a bit of money so it’s a difficult result for us. On another day, we maybe come away with a point, possibly more.”
Despite fighting an uphill battle against Kelty on Saturday, Reid is taking plenty of encouragement from what he saw into tonight’s match.
He added: “There were positives in terms of the performance from us but we didn’t take our chances when they came in the second half.
“I’ve had a couple hard losses in the past few weeks with penalty decisions against us, but I thought we played reasonably well. The important thing is taking chances and defending properly.
“We need to pick ourselves up and try and pick up points on Wednesday.”
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