11th February 2019. Hearts reserves v Morton reserves. 5-0

I wish Hearts would announce reserve fixtures earlier. It was mid-day before I noticed they were playing Morton at the Oriam today with a 14.00 kick-off. Left to catch bus at 13.05 but was speaking to a neighbour in the lift going down. We continued talking in the downstairs hallway and I missed the bus I was aiming to catch. Rather than stand waiting at the stop I walked along the route to keep warm and caught the next bus ten minutes later. Arrived at Riccarton at 14.40 and walked to the pitch at the Oriam. Entry was free and Hearts manager Craig Levein and first team coach Jon Daly were among those in the crowd.

Hearts fielded a side where all the eleven selected had first team experience as had three of the substitutes. It was interesting to see Ben Garuccio, normally a left-back, listed at right back. I wonder if the intention is to use him in the first team in this position to cover for regular right-back Michael Smith who tore his thigh muscle in yesterday's cup tie against Auchinleck. The Morton side was almost a total mystery to me and judging by the look of the players it must be school half-term in Greenock given the age of the side. The only player I recognised was Lewis Strapp who played on loan at Elgin last year and is currently on loan to Annan Athletic.

The game started with Hearts on attack and they opened the scoring after five minutes. Bobby Burns broke down the left and cut into the penalty box where he appeared to be taken down. The ball however broke to David Vanecek on the edge of the box who shot low past Brendan Pearson in the Morton goal for his first goal in a Hearts jersey. The second goal arrived after eighteen minutes and again Burns was involved. He again cut in from the left and looked to have been fouled just outside the penalty box. The referee played advantage as the ball broke to Aidan Keena in the penalty box. He took a touch to control the ball then shot low at goal. The shot was not particularly powerful but took a bounce in front of the diving Pearson and ended up in the net. Hearts continued to press and made a number of chances which were either saved by Pearson or missed. The worst miss came when Craig Wighton, in his first match back after injury, passed the ball across goal and the cross beat the keeper. Vanecek was a yard from goal but hammered his shot against the crossbar and away from goal. Morton's only chance of the first half came when centre forward Shaun Rodgers chased a through ball into the box. Zlamal dived on the ball twelve yards out to snuff out the danger. Vanecek made up for his earlier miss after forty minutes when Harry Cochrane found Garuccio on the right. The full-back beat a defender and from the bye-line cut the ball back to Vanecek. His close range shot was judged by the referee and linesman to have cross the line before being cleared by the Morton defence. The defenders were not happy at the decision and a torrent of abuse was directed at both the referee and his linesman on the stand-side. 

At half-time Hearts replaced Wighton with Euan Henderson and continued to dominate the game. After eleven minutes of the second half Keena went down in the box following a challenge from a defender but no penalty was given. Keena got up and shouted towards the referee, who was now following play in the Hearts half, ‘are you f****** blind”. Some-one in the crowd shouted back “aye and he’s deaf too 'cos he hasnae heard you”. Minutes later Burns had a chance after he was put through on the left-hand side of the penalty box by a pass from Henderson. However Burns pulled his shot past the far post. By this time Morton goalkeeper Pearson appeared to be injured as he was unable to take goal-kicks which were taken by Strapp. However Pearson showed there was nothing wrong with his goal-keeping as he tipped a twenty-five yard shot from Garuccio over the bar. Pearson made another good save from Keena before the striker took revenge in the seventy-fifth minute. He took an Irving pass on the left hand side of the penalty box and cut inside. From inside the box around fifteen yards out he fired a right footed shot into the net for his second goal. The main interest in the remainder of the match was if Keena or Vanecek or even both would get a hat-trick. In seventy-seven minutes Keena gathered the ball just outside the penalty box in the centre of the field. He went round two defenders and shot a fierce drive into the left hand corner of the match for his third goal. Just before the end of the match Morton had a good chance when Strapp was through on the left-hand side of the pitch. He tried a shot from twenty-five yards which flew past the far post. At the end of the game I wondered what the rules where on substitutes in the reserve league as Hearts used five and Morton four. I was surprised that Morton however did not use their substitute goalkeeper after Pickering’s injury, given his inability to kick the ball. Despite Keena’s hat-trick my man of the match was Bobby Burns who worked hard on the left side of midfield and helped create two goals in addition to creating a number of other chances.

After the match i caught a 35 bus in The Avenue and was home around 16.45.

Teams
Hearts; Zlamal, Garuccio, Buar, Hamilton, Dikamona, Irving, Burns, Cochrane, Vanecek, Wighton, Keena.
Subs: Henderson, Petrov, Smith, Hickey, Makovora
Morton: Pearson, Hynes, Gallacher, Strapp, Ben Docherty, McGrattan, Brophy, Lyon, Rodgers, Easdale, Blair Docherty.
Subs: Lyon, Duffy, Garrity, Hamilton.