Montrose 1 Kelty Hearts 1 (1-3pens)

MONTROSE slipped out of the Scottish Cup with a defeat on penalties to League 2 newcomers Kelty Hearts.
Having played out a goalless draw in the wake of Storm Arwen a week earlier, the sides met again with a home tie against holders St Johnstone in the fourth round up for grabs.

In a cold wind and driving rain, the slick pitch gave both teams problems, and Kelty could have capitalised in the third minute when Aidan Quinn gave the ball to Joseph Cardle, but the Kelty winger could only curl a shot wide of the post from the edge of the box.

But JOE CARDLE opened the scoring three minutes later when he burst into the crowded Montrose box and fired a shot past the helpless Aaron Lennox.

Kelty had the momentum, and could have pulled further ahead in the 17th minute, but Kallum Higginbotham sent a low shot wide of the post.

Montrose’s first real chance of note came in the 25th minute, but Blair Lyons could only shoot at Darren Jamieson from the edge of the box.

Kelty Hearts looked dangerous on the break, and could have scored a second goal in the 34th minute after a Montrose attack broke down. The ball was moved quickly to Cardle, but he fired wide after carrying the ball into the box.

Montrose skipper Paul Watson came close to equalising in the 40th minute, but his low shot from 25 yards out bounced wide of the post.

But the increased Montrose pressure paid off a minute later. Terry Masson cracked a shot off the post, the rebound falling to the unmarked CRAIG JOHNSTON, who smashed the ball into the net on the half volley.
Johnston almost put Montrose ahead a minute later, heading against the post from a Cammy Ballantyne cross to the back post.

Montrose looked eager to make their home advantage count in the second half, Johnston shooting wide of the post from the edge of the box four minutes after the restart.

The end-to-end encounter continued to serve up chances for both teams, as evidenced in the 64th minute when Lyons jinked into the Kelty box and squared to Johnston, whose shot was blocked and cleared. Kelty broke quickly, and Lennox was forced to make a diving save at Cardle’s feet to deny him a second goal.

Quinn came close to putting Montrose ahead in the 70th minute, but his deflected header from a corner was cleared off the line.

Cardle should have done better in the 79th minute, blasting over the bar from inside the box.

The final chance of the match fell to Blair Lyons in the box, but Jamieson smothered the ball at his feet.
In the penalty shoot-out that followed, Andrew Steeves and Mark Whatley had their kicks saved by Jamieson, and Liam Callaghan blasted high and wide, with Johnston the only Montrose player to score his kick.

Higginbotham, Cardle and Barjonas all scored their kicks, giving Kelty a 3-1 win and a place in the fourth round.

Report by Mark Rae

Team Linups & Stats

Scottish Cup 3rd Round Replay

Saturday 4th December 2021

21	Aaron Lennox	1	Darren Jamieson
2	Cammy Ballantyne	2	Andy Black (s78)
3	Andrew Steeves	4	Dougie Hill
5	Kerr Waddell (s67)	5	Scott Hooper
17	Aidan Quinn	7	Joe Cardle
6	Terry Masson	9	Nathan Austin
15	Mark Whatley	11	Kallum Higginbotham
8	Paul Watson (c) (s71)	12	Michael Tidser (c) (s87)
16	Craig Johnston	14	Ross Philp (s56)
12	Chris Antoniazzi (s77)	15	Daniel Finlayson
11	Blair Lyons	16	Robbie McNab
4	Matty Allan (s67)	8	Thomas Reilly (s87)
7	Graham Webster	10	Jamie Barjonas (s56)
19	Liam Callaghan (s71)	22	Alfredo Agyeman (s78)
22	Craig Brown (s77)	21	Botti Biabi
9	Ross Campbell	20	Josh Donaldson
1	Allan Fleming (GK)

Penalty Shootout
Andrew Steeves		Kallum Higinbotham
Mark Whatley		Joe Cardle
Craig Johnston		Jamie Barjonas
Liam Callaghan

Referee:
Barry Cook

Assistant Referees:
Colin Drummond, Regan Wallace

Goalscorers:
Kelty Hearts - Joe Cardle (6)
Montrose - Craig Johnston (42)

Yellow Cards:
Kelty Hearts - Joe Cardle (44)
Montrose - Aidan Quinn (67), Terry Masson (77)

Red Cards:
None

Attendance:
690