22nd July 2017 Hearts v East Fife 3-0


At last a game at Tynecastle! With the new stand still under construction Hearts had decided that any early season Bet-Fred Cup or European matches would be played at Tynecastle in front of the three remaining stands. Due the the poor results at the end of last season European games would not be taking place but this was the first of two Bettered cup matches at home. As I have switched my season ticket to the new stand my own seat was not available. However season tickets are only valid for league matches and along with other season ticket holders I had to purchase a ticket for this game. I ended up in Section B, Row 9 of the Wheatfield stand. Row 9 is the bottom row of the top part of the stand and offers a good view of the pitch. The photo below shows the new main stand from where I was sitting.


The Hearts team included two further new signings, Michael Smith and Kyle Lafferty, both Northern Ireland internationalists. Assistant head Coach, Austin McPhee, performs the same role for Northern Ireland and his influence was credited in bringing these players to Tynecastle. Kyle Lafferty had in the past played with Glasgow Rangers and while he scored a number of goals for them I was not impressed with him when I saw him play as I felt he was only scoring as he was playing in a successful team who made a lot of chances for him. While not a new player John Souttar was also making his comeback after rupturing his Achilles tendon playing against Celtic in January. John is a cultured ball-playing centre defender and his return should lead to a stronger defence than fans have seem recently.   

As for the match Hearts strolled to a 3-0 over the SPFL1 opposition. Lafferty opened the scoring from a Smith cross midway through the first half. At half-time Souttar was replaced by Bulgarian Alex Petkov in a planned move after a quietly effective first half. Souttar must have be glad to be of the pitch as the heavens opened early in the second half. It seemed a monsoon had hit Edinburgh as fans in the lower areas of the stand looked to move to seats higher up to escape the deluge. Even in the top section I was soaked. Malaury Martin replaced Don Cowie and from his corner Christophe Berra headed home Hearts second. Late in the game Hearts were awarded penalty after Isma was brought down in the box. Following the East Fife defender being sent off for a second yellow card Lafferty dispatched the penalty for a comfortable 3-0 victory. East Fife had a few chances during the game but Hearts were always in control and were worthy winners.

I was not happy with my bets on the game. I had £1 on Hearts to win 3-0 with Isma scoring first goal which went to Lafferty and £1 on Berra for first goal when he got second. I thought I had a winner as I had £1 on Martin for last goal. Martin picked up the ball after the foul and I thought he would take the penalty however Lafferty grabbed the ball and my last chance of a win disappeared.

I squelched my way home after the game and dived into a hot shower as soon as I got in. 

Teams
Hearts: Hamilton, M.Smith, Grzelak, Souttar, McGhee, Berra, Walker, Buaben, Cowie, Lafferty, Isma,
Subs: Petkov, Martin, Stockton
East Fife: Goodfellow, Dunmore, Doherty, Watson, Slattery, Duggan, Wilson, Millar, Gordon, Reilly, Willis
Sub: Flanagan

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