WATCH: Buckie Thistle boss Graeme Stewart says he was harsh on his Jags after they were knocked out of Scottish Cup by League Two leaders Kelty Hearts
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LEAGUE Two leaders Kelty Hearts proved just too strong for Highland League Buckie Thistle on Saturday.
The Fife side beats Jags 4-1 in their Scottish Cup second round clash in Fife - see Scottish Cup YouTube highlights below - much to Buckie manager Graeme Stewart's disappointment.
Stewart admitted he may have been too hard on his players after a match where they competed well against top quality opposition.
"I was quite frustrated after the game but looking back and reflecting, I’m happier when you look at the game and how it played out," he said.
Kelty scored twice in the first half through Thomas O'Ware's header and a Joe Cardle strike.
Cardle made it 3-0 and although Sam Urquhart's fine strike got one back, Ross Philp netted late on to seal the 4-1 Hearts victory.
"After 25 minutes it was 0-0 and we had the better chances, they scored two really poor goals in our opinion which is something we obviously have to work on," Stewart added.
"In the second half we were all over them in the first 15 minutes. A deflected goal was hard to take but we went again and got a goal back before they scored another soft one at the end when we were pushing.
"So it probably wasn’t a 4-1, it was closer than that with maybe a goal in it being a fairer outcome."
Stewart rates Kelty highly, but thinks their manager, former Rangers and Hibs player Kevin Thomson, did not give Buckie the credit they deserved.
"I see Kelty as being a couple of levels above us. In theory it is one but they are about to win that league, and all of their players are ex-full-time and they are still in full-time mode.
"So I look back now and I was possibly a bit harsh on the boys after the game.
"It was an astro turf pitch, away from home, everything was against us and on another day I think we could have pulled a result out of the bag.
"I heard their manager say it’s the worst they’ve played, well I think he’s being a bit ungracious.
"I think he could say that we played well because we stopped them playing, we worked on a plan so they didn’t just not play well because it was a one-off game.
"We targeted certain players so we maybe deserved a bit more credit."
