Edinburgh University 0-4 Hearts B

Edinburgh University 0-4 Hearts B 

Lowland League

Saturday 11th November 2023

Having watched Hearts B Team wallop plenty of others in the Lowland League and play some really good football on occasions, this was a straightforward afternoon for them - nothing too exciting or exhilarating; simply a case of ‘getting the job done’ against rock bottom Edinburgh University.

On a typical pitch for this time of year and opponents who put a lot of bodies behind the ball and couldn’t be faulted for their application or endeavour (and who possibly deserved a goal at the other end), the Wee Jambos looked very comfortable for the large part. They didn’t really need to get out of second gear and had the points wrapped up by half-time courtesy of finishes by Callum Sandilands, Mak Kirk and Bobby McLuckie, before a frustrating second half where they had a bagful of chances but only added one more goal to their tally through Kirky which was his 20th league goal of the campaign.

Ahead of the game, Hearts probably had two objectives:

1) To win (and avoid any kind of banana-skin).

2) To play better than in last week’s defeat to Stirling University which by all accounts was one of those disappointing performances you get from time to time.

Therefore, making an early breakthrough against the Lowland League’s whipping boys was crucial to avoid potential problems and it took 15 minutes for it to happen!

On what was apparently his 50th appearance for the B Team in the Lowland League (the most of anyone in the squad), Callum Sandilands was the scorer and he took his goal well with a well-placed low effort steered past the Edinburgh University ‘keeper into the bottom-right corner after Bobby McLuckie’s left-wing cross reached him via Mak Kirk’s lay-off inside the area.

Kirky then took less than two minutes to grab a goal himself as Kenzi Nair’s ball over the top landed in that problematic gap between the defence and ‘keeper and with Lewis Gallacher rushing off his line, the Hearts talisman took it around him and duly slotted home despite the best efforts of a couple of defenders who were scampering back in a desperate effort to narrow the angle.

At this point, I wondered if there was going to be a repeat scoreline of this fixture last November when the Wee Jambos scored nine because at 2-0 after just 17 minutes, it looked ominous for the struggling students.

Although Edinburgh did raise their game and get better, it didn’t stop the scoreline itself becoming worse for them - Mak Kirk was denied when the home ‘keeper rushed off his line to thwart him (the chance again coming from a ball over the defence) but just a few minutes after that chance, Bobby McLuckie producing a sweeping finish to make it 3-0 about 15 seconds after some really good hunting in packs and pressing in numbers high up the pitch (Ryan Duncan heavily involved in this particular instance) which was a good trait that Hearts showed throughout this game. 

However, in the period from Hearts’ second goal being scored up to the half-time whistle, Edinburgh came into things a bit more. They probably knew the game was lost already but they seemed determined to play with a freedom and try and express themselves positively, get at Hearts and get something to show for their effort, and on a different day, playing like they did in this period against a ‘lesser’ opponent in the Lowland League, they might have even pinched something.

They were dealt a blow when their RB went off injured on about 25 minutes (he did alright and was having a good game up to his injury) and although they continued to look indecisive and vulnerable at the back - and as if they could lose the ball quite cheaply at any given moment, further forward they attempted to get the ball down and play a bit and it led to 3-4 little openings which they didn’t take.

Lewis Hendry (No.10) lashed one over from 20 yards when he snatched at it and had time on his side to do better, Kenzi Nair made a decent block at one point, Will Antoniuk (No.4) flashed a low shot wide of Liam McFarlane’s right-hand post in another instance, big Liam also had to come off his line to claim one or two things and when Ryan Murray (No.6) got into the box just before half-time having got away from Kenzi Nair, he couldn’t quite bring it onto his left-foot and get a shot on target.

Hearts knew they were still in command (even if they weren’t playing vintage football) with it remaining 3-0 by the break and although Edinburgh looked bright for a five-minute spell at the start of second half where they again continued to try and work the ball into attacking areas, with temperatures dropping and it starting to feel really cold around Peffermill (at this point I was starting to realise I should have brought my coat), the Wee Jambos wrestled the initiative and soon began to create chance after chance.

Murray Thomas was unlucky not to find the net with a free-kick from just outside the box which clipped the crossbar whilst Callum Sandilands nearly found Mak Kirk with a cross as pressure was applied in search of a fourth goal.

And when the fourth goal eventually came just before the hour mark, it was through one of Hearts’ best moves of the game. Adam Forrester showed a lot of aggression, bite and tenacity on the right flank at times - pushing high and driving whenever he could and he played a key role with a piercing ball which released Callum Sandilands who looked as if he might score himself but was instead forced tight to the byline where his cutback across goal was turned home by Kirky from only a yard out.

Edinburgh continued to push for a consolation and David Maskrey (No.7) went close when he flashed one across goal and wide but largely, by the final quarter of the game, all the action was down at the other end.

Mack Ross stung the keeper’s gloves when he came on. Bobby McLuckie also went close with a deflected effort that fell just the wrong side of the post. Callum Sandilands was denied via a last-ditch tackle having brilliantly burst past his man to get goal side and into the box before the defender recovered in the nick of time. Mak Kirk was also in the thick of things. And even when Edinburgh’s first-choice ‘keeper had to go off injured and be replaced by Smith Samuel, the sub goalie was in inspired form and performed superbly - clawing away a deflected effort by Kirky which looked as if it was going to creep in, then pulling off a save from the penalty spot to deny the big man his hat-trick after he was sent sprawling, before being at full-stretch to keep out a ferocious 30-yard strike by Callum Sandilands in injury-time as the shots kept coming in and denying James Wilson even deeper into the four added minutes.

Those saves, combined with the students having so many players back behind the ball, plus a few poor bits of decision-making in one or two instances and also bad luck (which happens) all meant there were no further goals - and certainly when I woke up at 4.30am to make the 500-mile round trip to watch this game, I didn’t for one second think that I’d see two ‘keepers keep clean-sheets in this game!

Overall though, the result was a fair reflection and to be expected.

Hearts weren’t at their best by any means and there’s bits that could have been better - decision-making in the final third a couple of times (when to shoot and when to pass) because despite the ‘low block’ tactics and EU putting so many bodies behind the ball, there could have still been a few more goals. But the lads didn’t really need to get out of second gear to win this game. They made the breakthrough early (that was the important thing in terms of getting the win), Bobby McLuckie’s goal for 3-0 wrapped it up and put the result beyond doubt and it was steady rather than spectacular for 90 minutes. EU were alright going forward (no end product sadly) and their application/endeavour can’t be faulted, but they also looked very vulnerable at the back and it’s not hard to work out why they’ve struggled all season and face a battle to avoid relegation this season.

Credit to them though because when they went behind, there were a couple of groans and moans - the quick second goal could have really sunk them. But they didn’t cave or get hammered like they did in this game last season and they ought to take a little bit of confidence from that moving forward.

Individually for Hearts, there wasn’t too much to shout about given what this game was - the next fixture at East Kilbride (who having beat Cumbernauld Colts yesterday look as if they might run away with the title) will be a real challenge and where more learning is done.

Amongst a few contributions, Luke Rathie’s distribution was good - he must have tried the ball over the top about 10 times (possibly a bit too often) but the accuracy of the passes themselves were decent and I’m not sure how he got penalised early in the first half when he won a header and was judged to have fouled his opponent at the same time. Bizarre decision that one was! Adam Forrester looked aggressive and battled throughout the game and they were good characteristics; a little bit of needle with EU’s No.7 (interesting to watch and never a bad thing) and his best contribution was undoubtedly for the fourth goal where the quality of his pass to Callum Sandilands in the build up was of a really high standard. Callum Sandilands finished his goal really well and on a different day might have had another hat-trick to celebrate (like in this fixture last season), but getting on the score-sheet himself isn’t a bad way to celebrate the milestone of 50 appearances in the Lowland League and that bulky experience for his age can only serve him well. Kirky will be happy with his two goals to take his tally for the season to 20 - a good landmark and good on him for being so prolific, albeit I’ve got no doubts he’ll be kicking himself not to have got another hat-trick when he had so many chances (just no luck at times) in the game before the penalty near the end. Harry Gordon (took up some very clever positions and got the ball in good/effective areas in his 30 minutes) and James Wilson (sharp and involved in lots of things inside the box - using his pace to cause problems and worthy of a goal/assist which didn’t quite materialise) also both performed quite well when they came on.

‘Steady and Straightforward’ is a description of how I’ll remember this game though!

I won’t be at East Kilbride in a fortnight for the rearranged fixture - even though I’d like to see that one because I know it’s going to be a good challenge for the boys where they’ll have to be switched on and alert for 90 minutes to achieve a result against the potential league champions, but weather and train strikes permitting, I’ll be at Gretna on Saturday 2nd December.

Up the Wee Jambos!

Team: Liam McFarlane, Ethan Drysdale (Bailey Dall), Kenzi Nair, Luke Rathie, Adam Forrester, Mac Tait, Callum Sandilands, Ryan Duncan (Harry Gordon), Bobby McLuckie (Mack Ross), Murray Thomas (James Wilson), Mak Kirk. Unused Subs: Jack McConnell, Kai Smutek.