Former Rangers player and coach Kevin Thomson caused a stir earlier this summer when he left Ibrox to take the reins at ambitious League Two new boys Kelty Hearts – and his first game in charge of the Fifers have ended in a 3-2 defeat by Partick Thistle.
After replacing Rangers legend Barry Ferguson at Kelty when he surprisingly quit the New Central Park side, Thomson has wasted no time in making his mark by bringing in many new faces.
Those new signings were on display yesterday as a strong Kelty XI narrowly lost after a controversial penalty late in the game.
The Fifers took the lead through Michael Tidser before Nathan Austin restored the lead ten minutes after the break.
After Partick drew level for a second time, they grabbed a late winner when McIver went down inside the area with Brian Graham netting from 12 yards.
Thomson ‘delighted’ despite losing 3-2 to Ian McCall’s Thistle
Thomson had former Rangers midfielder Jamie Barjonas making his debut for Kelty and, despite losing 3-2, the Kelty boss was happy with his side’s performance against the Championship Jags, saying: “I’m delighted, to be honest. I thought the boys were terrific.
“Some of the spells, some of the passages of play against a good side…listen, Ian McCall’s teams are always going to be well-organized and hard-to-beat.
“I thought at times that we looked a real threat, good control, good passages of play so overall I’m delighted.
The harsh reality is we’ve only got three friendlies to get up to speed. We’ve tried to be fair to everybody and put miles in their legs. When you’re playing teams like Partick Thistle from a couple of leagues above you, you need to be respectful of them.
“At the same time, it’s friendly and we need to try and get as many up to speed as possible.”