Keith boss Craig Ewen hails best result of his tenure as Maroons defeat high-flying Formartine United
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KEITH manager Craig Ewen hailed the best result of his tenure as the Maroons defeated Formartine United 1-0 at Kynoch Park on Saturday.
Kieran Mooney’s second-half goal gave Keith victory against their high-flying opponents, their first over Formartine at home since 2012 and only their third ever Highland League success over the visitors.
“It’s a huge one for us,” Ewen said. “In terms of result, it’s probably the best since I’ve been at Keith.
"We’ve never beaten a top six team in the time I’ve been here.
“We have been fairly big underdogs in the last two games so it's very positive. The players were excellent and put in the work rate required.
"We had a bit more spark about us after a good three points against Forres, and a bit more belief.
"It helped that Formartine were missing a couple of key, experienced players but we dug in out of possession, kept things tight and were lively on the break.
"We have good quality players and thankfully they have produced two games on the bounce so they deserve all the credit.
“It’s very positive but now we need to keep this momentum up.”
Keith travel to Deveronvale on Saturday, having lost to the Banff side twice last season.
"Deveronvale beat us comfortably twice last year so need to improve on those performances," Ewen added.
"It will be a tough game. I'm expecting it to be close and a case of whoever is better on the day will win."
Last week's Scottish Cup first round draw has given Keith a home tie against Cumnock Juniors, who currently sit fourth in the West of Scotland Premier Division.
The Maroons were knocked out of the competition by Darvel, of the same league, last year after a 2-1 home defeat.
"That'll be a tough game," Ewan said. "We had a similar game against Darvel and it was tough.
"You never know on the day. It's another one we'll be big underdogs in but if we keep it tight and try to counter we have a chance."
