Steven Naismith on Cowdenbeath draw

Despite fashioning several good chances across the 90, a second half penalty from Connor Smith was enough to secure a share of the spoils against the Blue Brazil in a 1-1 draw at Ferguson Park.
 
The Fifers’ Trialist flicked in a header from a free kick before the Wee Jambos pulled back the equaliser just minutes later.
 
A challenging night was compounded by Naismith’s red card, as frustrations boiled over around the penalty incident that saw Cowdenbeath ‘keeper Farrell take out Makenzie Kirk at the corner, with three minutes passing after the spot kick was taken for the game to restart.
 
“The match started much as we expected; we knew they were going to sit in and make it difficult,” he told Hearts TV.
 
“Our forward players were frustrated because Cowdenbeath made it hard for them. I told the boys at half-time that it’s a compliment that they were prepared to concede so much of the pitch.
 
“We do need to get better at dealing with set-pieces, but the positives are that, even after we conceded, we still tried to play with a tempo. That’s what got us the penalty and three or four other good chances in the game.
 
“We didn’t panic. We didn’t play safe. We created overloads and made better chances than just lumping the ball in the box.
 
“My red card was just frustration; they were playing clever and playing well. After we scored the penalty, it took too long for the game to restart. I just need to learn not to show my frustration.”
 
Civil Service Strollers are the visitors next to Ferguson Park, and Naisy hopes this point will be a good place for the Wee Jambos to regroup and get back to top form.
 
“There’s still loads of points up for grabs,” he added.
 
“It’s something to build on. There’s a lot of positive going forward, we just need to tighten up the set play issue. We’ve got an opportunity to get the boys even sharper at this point of the season.”