CONOR KELLY revealed he was proud of his Sauchie teammates for refusing to let their heads drop as they overturned a two-goal deficit to claim a point at Newtongrange Star last Saturday.

The Juniors went 2-0 behind in the first half, but a brace of penalties from Kelly pulled them level.

And the striker reckons the point gained was no more than his side deserved from the encounter.

Kelly told Advertiser Sport: “We went a goal down very early in the game and we could have thought ‘here we go again’, because we have been making things hard for ourselves recently.

"But we kept our heads up and played some good stuff. Even when they went 2-0 up we were still playing some good stuff.

“The team played well and although we had to come back into it from two goals down, I felt we were always in the game because of how well we were playing.

"Getting the goal just before half time gave us a real lift because it meant we could come out firing in the second half and really push for the equaliser.

“It would have been easy for boys to down tools because of the way things have been going but we showed good team spirit to get back in the game.

"Newtongrange would have expected to go on to win the game with the start to the season they have had but it shows how good we can be that we were able to get back on terms.”

Kelly has struggled with injury since returning to Beechwood Park from Linlithgow Rose in the summer, but says he is approaching full fitness and is determined to add to his goal tally in the coming weeks.

He said: “I’m still not at the level I want to be at in terms of fitness but I’m working hard in training to get my sharpness back so it feels like I’m getting there.

"I’m determined to keep getting better and better. To get two goals on Saturday was a massive bonus and it will help my confidence. Hopefully now I can push on and get some more.

The striker insisted that Saturday’s clash with Forfar West End is one Sauchie must win, and says it’s time for the East Premier champions to start climbing the Super League table.

Kelly added: “Not getting anything from Saturday’s game would have been tough to take but we managed to take something from it and now we can look ahead to the Forfar game this weekend.

"That’s a must-win game. It looks like they will be one of the teams around us this season so it’s really important to win those games, and with it being a home game as well there’s that added incentive. A good three points would give us something to build on and start climbing the table.”