Peterhead manager Jim McInally was left with mixed emotions after his side drew their Betfred Cup tie 1-1 at Kelty Hearts and then secured a bonus point in a 5-4 penalty kick success.
The Blue Toon were placid in the first half however a much improved performance after the break saw Gary Fraser open the scoring with a fantastic strike only for former favourite Jamie Stevenson to equalise before five perfect spot kicks saw Peterhead prevail.
McInally said: “The first half was poor from our point of view. Kelty have a very experienced side and they were on top. I have a lot of respect from the players they have and we were struggling to contain them. We got some more experience onto the park at half-time when Steven Boyd and Derek Lyle came on and the second half was a much more competitive affair.”
“That 45 minutes saw some really good football being played and we took the lead with a brilliant goal from Gary. It was a really good strike.”
“When Steven ran through in the last 20 minutes I was expecting to see the net ripple however he slipped the ball wide. If that had gone it would probably have knocked the stuffing out of Kelty and we would have picked up the full points.”
As a result of their bonus point McInally’s side sit second, one point ahead of Saturday’s visitors St Johnstone and level with Dundee United. A win over the Perth side either during the 90 minutes or through another penalty shoot-out success would see a place booked in the final 16 however McInally is not getting carried away as he said: “Lenny made a good save in the first half but he knows that he should have kept out the free-kick. Dropping a point does not change too much as I would imagine St Johnstone would be coming to our place looking for a win.”
© Craig Stewart/ Peterhead Football Club
