Broxburn Athletic 0-2 Hearts B

Broxburn Athletic 0-2 Hearts B

Pre-Season Friendly

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Another night watching the Hearts B Team and another performance which the lads will feel positive about as this 2-0 win at Broxburn Athletic means it’s an unbeaten pre-season with a 100% record for the Wee Jambos.

Wearing their away strip; white shirts, maroon shorts and maroon socks (some cut-offs more visible than others) it took the young lads a while to get going because although there were some decent snippets of football inside the opening 30 minutes, quite often it was infront of the Broxburn defence and didn’t really trouble them too much.

The Jambos did get in-behind once when Harvey Chisholm (in the starting line-up, getting 90 minutes under his belt and really aggressive and involved a lot in the early stages) poked a ball through for Bobby McLuckie who fed Mak Kirk but when the big man shot, his effort was blocked by the ‘keeper's legs.

Hearts were then indebted to Liam McFarlane who pulled off a strong save around the half-hour mark to keep the scoreline goalless and that was just before the lads really started to get on top and make inroads in the run-up to half-time.

Having gone close via a Rocco Friel effort from the edge of the area which was narrowly off-target (good strike though), plus a free-kick by Bobby McLuckie, the deadlock was finally broken via Bailey Dall as the star of last week's win at Preston Athletic popped up in the right place at the right time inside the box to receive Rocco’s pass (I think) via a dummy from Mak Kirk and he finished it with precision into the bottom corner. 

Clinical. Composed. Dalldini with the opener. 1-0. What a guy!

Gus Stevenson let fly with another rocket (pun intended again) which warmed the hands of the ‘keeper just before the interval, and the second half started in a similar vein with Hearts well on top as Bobby McLuckie was ‘unlucky’ with a curling effort that looked like it might go in at one point, whilst Mak Kirk let fly with a low volley from the edge of the area, straight from a corner, that went very narrowly wide - and if the big man had scored with that one, he’d have been talking about it for months to come. Class technique; just off-target!

Soon enough, with the hour mark was approaching, the wee Jambos finally made it 2-0. Mak Kirk got in-behind and was barged over; a definite penalty, clear as anything and easy for the referee, and he dispatched the resulting kick in emphatic style by sending the Broxburn ‘keeper the wrong way, albeit he seemed to scuff his foot as he was taking it and had to be replaced just a few minutes later.

There were a couple of other chances as Hearts pushed for a third goal. Stevenson went close again but probably the best chance fell to Mack Ross (a quiet game by his standards - primarily because most of the attacks went down the opposite side to which he was playing) as he had an effort saved by the home ‘keeper after brilliantly getting on the end of a ball by Bailey Dall who’d worked hard to win it near the corner flag, drive forward and cross it in a move that had lots of quality.

At the other end, keeping a clean-sheet is always priceless and what pleases every manager and the back two of Kenzi Nair (superb to watch in this game) and Kai Smutek defended excellently. Nair made one big block from a shot, intercepted another ball which looked dangerous as Broxburn pressed with intent, and when the duo (who work so well together) were breached, the trialist ‘keeper pulled off a solid save.

All in all, another good night.

It took a while for things to get going initially - the first half-hour had some nice football in parts but was still a bit tepid at times too and when Hearts’ stepped it up, their quality shone through. On a different occasion it might have been more than 2-0, but the clean-sheet was a thoroughly deserved reward for the lads’ effort against a decent Broxburn outfit who pressed, pressed and pressed even more for large parts of the game.

Shout-outs right the way across the team; Kenzi Nair had a top game which was a great example of what he’s all about. He won everything in the air, dominated in a top defensive performance, battled well and competed and it was really good to watch him thrive out there on the pitch. 

Bailey Dall took his goal well; not sure what was going through his head in the first five seconds of the game when he lost possession in the middle of his own half (it happens - better first five seconds at the start of the second half when he headed it away with power) and from the time he got the captain’s armband after Mak Kirk went off to when he was substituted himself, he was playing well, flourishing, involved in so much, adding quality, competing physically (noticed that), winning his headers. Bits to improve but another game he can feel alright about - and being on the score-sheet is always a nice added bonus! 

Gus Stevenson; some great distribution at times (picked up on that), Rocco Friel likewise, Ryan Duncan really loved to get stuck in, be aggressive, tenacious and work hard and had a spell in the second half when he was dictating the play (absolute pleasure to see it). Bobby McLuckie added his little bit of quality; the runs, the movements, the distribution (all noticeable) and that’s shown over both this game and the one at Dunbar on Saturday, and Mak Kirk being the bagsman to get the second goal too - albeit I really hope there’s no damage to his foot with the Gretna game being less than 72 hours away!

Mentions too for the ‘keepers who made big saves at big times; Liam McFarlane with one to keep it at 0-0, and then the trialist ‘keeper with one to ensure the clean-sheet remained intact - top work. Valuable contributions! And also for all the young lads who came on and got minutes they’ll appreciate as the best way to learn and develop in football is always by testing yourselves against more experienced players.

Again though, a really enjoyable night. I felt like I learned plenty from watching this game (lots of respect for Kenzi Nair’s performance) and it’s a pleasure again to watch these lads because they play some decent stuff, there’s plenty of talent and squad depth, and with four wins out of four in pre-season - not to mention that quite a few of the older lads eligible for the B Team haven't been involved in these friendlies, everyone can take a lot of confidence going into Friday night’s first game of the Lowland League season against Gretna.

It’ll be a tougher game without a shadow of a doubt so nobody can afford to get complacent in any way. I’ve seen it enough times in football where a team goes unbeaten in pre-season only to come unstuck once the season starts but I’m thoroughly looking forward to the Gretna game - even more so than a trip to Murrayfield to watch Man United tomorrow!

Standards are high, there's a lot of talent in the B Team, and how good would it be to see a decent crowd inside Ainslie Park cheering these lads on at the start of a new season.

Up the Hearts B Team. See you at Ainslie Park!