25th September 2021 Hearts 3 v Livingston 0

 

First game for almost a week. There was local football on Tuesday however it was my birthday and we were going out for a meal. As this is the one time every year we go out without me putting my hand in my pocket I had to take advantage and giving up going to football. After a later lunch of pie and beans left home just ten 14.00 to walk down to Tynecastle. Arrived around 14.15 and hung around at the Foundation Plaza for a few minutes before entering the ground and heading to my seat at 14.30. Ground was filling up well and the atmosphere was building as the kick-off due closer.

Hearts had drawn at Ross County and made a few changes to the starting eleven from that game. out of the side went the injured John Souttar, Andy Halliday, and Arnaud Gnanduillet, the latter two dropping to the bench. Into to side came Michael Smith, returning from injury, Cameron Devlin, and Alex Cochrane. Devlin was making their first starting appearances and I was particularly looking forward to seeing Devlin who had played for Australia in the summers Olympic Games. Livingston under manager David Martindale had their first league win last week, beating Celtic 1-0.The club lost a number of players from last seasons squad but by using free transfers and loan players have built another stuffy, if not specular, side. Former Hearts mid-fielder Jason Holt was in the starting eleven with ex-Hibs loanee Stéphane Oméonga on the substitutes bench. 

Hearts started the game well and were passing the ball around but not creating any clear chances. The central midfield pairing of Devlin and Beni Baningime were particularly impressive both the the range of their passing and their ability to win the ball in midfield. Hearts went ahead in twenty-five minutes. The ball was fed towards Barrie McKay close to the right touchline  thirty yards from goal. A superb first touch and a quick turn took him away from his marker James Pence. Around twenty yards he sent a cross into the box which was missed by Liam Boyce in the centre of the penalty area. The ball ran to Alex Cochrane who passed it back towards Michael Smith just inside the penalty box. Th full-back’s first time shot flew into the net giving keeper Max Strjek no chance.  Steven Kingsley then broke down the left wing and was fouled about fifteen yards from goal. After treatment he recovered but left the free-kick to Ben Woodburn. He fired the kick low past the ball towards the near post with Strjek stopping the ball on his goal-line. The second goal arrived in thirty-three minutes. Devlin was tripped just inside the penalty box but managed to lay the ball off to Baningime. He was also tripped and the referee awarded a penalty. I think the award was for the second foul but no matter ! Boyce took the kick and sent Strjek the wrong way as he shot low in the corner of the net. With Hearts totally dominant  Smith nearly got his second goal as the half moved into injury time but Strjek pushed away his volley from twenty-five yards.

Despite Livingston bringing on Oméonga and Jason Longride at half-time Hearts continued to dominate. Woodburn took a free-kick in the centre of the field around thirty yards from goal. His shot was handled in the Livinstone defensive wall and Hearts were awarded a second free-kick just outside the penalty area. This time Kingsley took the kick and Strjek leapt to his right to push the ball away for a corner. Around the hour mark McKay ran onto a loose pass from Livingstone’s Ayo Obileye. He carried the penalty into the penalty box and tried to chip it over diving Strjek. The keeper knocked the ball into the air with one hand and recovered to grab it before the onrushing Boyce could knock it home. In sixty-four minutes McKay set up Heats third with a run to the byeline before sending the ball low across the face of the Livi goal. Cochrane ran in at the far post to knock the ball home for his first competitive gaol for Hearts, having previously scored against Spartans in a pre-season friendly. Despite replacing both Boyce and Kingsley Hearts continued to play some excellent football with Halliday looking impressive in the left wing-back role. There was a worrying moment just before the end of the came when Craig Halkett was helped from the field following a head knock. He had looked in excellent, in the absence of Souttar, as the defensive organiser and his distribution was vastly improved from what I had seen in earlier games. Peter Haring came on to play out the three minutes of injury time before the final whistle. 

I walked home happy after watching an excellent game of football. Hearts played in their preferred 3-4-3 domain but I thought some minor changes made a great difference. The central midfield partnership of Baningime and Devlin were excellent throughout. With Hearts playing with wing-baks Livi had three in midfield against them but the Hearts duo dominated. Both players have been signed this season on long term deals but I would not be surprised to see other clubs coming in with transfer bids, Baningime in particular could certainly play art a high level. Bringing in Barrie McKay also worked well as with the more defensively mind Smith behind him the winger had more freedom to take risks and show his skills. On the other side of the field Woodburn had a floating role rather then sticking to the wing. This gave Cochrane, at left wing-back,  space to show his attacking expertise by linking well with Kingsley who was playing on the left of the back three. Undefeated in seven league matches is a far better start to the season than most fans expected. Long may it continue !

Teams

Hearts: Gordon, Smith, Kingsley, Baningime, Woodburn, Boyce, Devlin, Moore, Cochrane, McKay, Halkett. 

Subs: Gnanduillet, Halliday, Mackay-Steven, Haring. 

Livingston: Stryjek, Devlin, Obileye, Fitzwater, Penrice, McMillan, Holt, Williamson, Lewis, Shinnie, Bailey. 

Subs: Omeonga, Longridge, Anderson.