Gretna 0-3 Hearts B

Gretna 0-3 Hearts B

Lowland League

Saturday 23rd March 2024

Straightforward, routine and comfortable.

Those words best describe this game as the Hearts B Team made it six wins on the spin in the Lowland League to strengthen their grip on second position with three more games of the season left to play.

The boys in maroon never really needed to get out of second gear to get the job done on the 4G pitch at Raydale Park. Gus Stevenson bagged a brace before half-time and the returning Rocco Friel rounded off the scoring with a strike in stoppage-time to complete another successful afternoon.

And it was a particularly bad day for Gretna because if losing two players to injury wasn’t bad enough - Alex Potts going to hospital with a foot/ankle issue and Tyler Bowman (I think) busting his nose late in the game, more importantly they dropped to the bottom of the Lowland League table due to Edinburgh University’s surprising win over Albion Rovers meaning it now looks as if their season will be decided on the final day when they host their fellow strugglers!

With Raydale Park being the only ground I needed to complete the Lowland League, I was quite looking forward to this game. 

I wasn’t anticipating a repeat of the 7-0 battering on the opening day by any means - even though that scoreline was proof of what these boys can do when they’re at their best, but three points were always likely and I knew I’d (probably) be treated to a decent performance because there’s quality all across the team.

In fairness, despite having four corners inside the opening 10 minutes - and a linesman who seemed to want to stop Hearts by flagging for anything that looked remotely close (annoyingly so), the game took a little while to get going.

The boys managed a couple of early efforts as James Wilson tested the Gretna ‘keeper, then Callum Sandilands - in search of goal No.17 for the campaign, also got a shot on target prior to putting the ball in the net a few minutes later only for Mack Ross to be flagged offside after he laid the ball off to him in the build-up.

It wasn’t until the 24th minute that the first goal came and the quality in the build-up was testament to what these boys can produce. Gretna found themselves pushed onto the back foot and camped deep inside their own half as Hearts moved the ball from left to right and were patient in their build-up play - retaining possession really well and keeping the ball for well over a minute. And the work eventually paid off as Bailey Dall burst to the byline, cut a piercing low pass to Gus Stevenson on the edge of the box who sweetly rifled his first-time shot into the net. Good play, good quality, a good finish and Hearts two best players in this game combining to put the lads on their way to three points.

Old ‘Dalldini’ could have soon had a second assist because before the half-hour mark, he produced his best contribution of the afternoon when he pushed high once again, tormented his marker with some good footwork - using his right foot, then his left and being really aggressive and attacking in style to eventually beat his man and deliver a clipped ball into the near-post area which was knocked onto the post by Callum Sandilands.

So close to 2-0 in that move and soon enough ‘Dalldini’ himself went close when he brilliantly got on the blind side of the defender to connect to a clipped cross from the other side of the box - this time by Mack Ross. The goal was gaping, I was willing him to score, but he headed wide when anything on target would almost certainly have resulted in a second goal.

At the other end, Gretna showed a bit of ‘huff and puff’ and went close to an equaliser with a shot that wasn’t too far wide of Liam McFarlane’s goal - not quite troubling for the big man though, but a few minutes before half-time, Hearts got a second goal on the back of another decent move.

This time, Murray Thomas got the assist as his pass found Gus Stevenson in a very similar position to where he scored the opener, and Gus moved nimbly and quickly with the ball at his feet, opened up half a yard of space for himself and unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box which found the net, via a deflection, which had class and quality written all over it - and even without his two goals, Gus Stevenson was the best player on the pitch in the first half anyway!

Hearts knew scoring a third goal would put the game to bed and just after half-time Big Muz went close to making it three only to be denied by the ‘keeper.

The corners continued to rack up and Hearts intensity in the early stages after the re-start initially seemed better, albeit things soon to get a bit feisty. A few ‘nibbly’ tackles occurred in quick succession and then Gretna’s No.2 got injured in a tackle with Luke Rathie where the big man was just a lot physically stronger and whilst the Gretna player was getting treatment, there were a few handbags as Rathie and David Cox went head-to-head with Gretna’s No.6 being at the centre of attention and completely losing his cool.

It took a while for things to calm down again and from 55-75 minutes, Gretna probably had their best spell in their game. They went long/direct, knocked on the door a bit, tried to find some openings and even got into the box on a few occasions. Still though, they weren’t able to properly test Liam McFarlane as such and their threat was largely contained by Luke Rathie and Kai Smutek who defended well between the pair of them.

Gradually, and helped by the introductions of Rocco Friel and Gregor Crookston who looked full of energy, Hearts got on top again and dictated all the play in the last 15-20 minutes.

Gus Stevenson squandered the chance to complete his hat-trick when he fired just wide having broken through on goal (anything on target and he’d have got the matchball). Rocco Friel went close when he tried to lob the ball over the on-rushing ‘keeper from Harry Gordon’s open-play cross. Bailey Dall had a penalty appeal turned down and separately fired a shot into the side-netting, and Gretna’s No.5 was completely wiped out by his own ‘keeper from Rocco Friel’s delivery from the right, as the late pressure started to crank up.

It seemed a third goal wouldn’t happen until injury-time when a passing move that is the blueprint of this Hearts team cut Gretna open and culminated with Rocco stroking the ball home from close-range for a very easy finish.

Three goals, three points and a good day again for the Wee Jambos!

Individually, Gus Stevenson and Bailey Dall were Hearts’ two best players, Gregor Crookston and Rocco Friel both looked good off the bench - more so Rocco who’ll be happy with his goal and he could have had two (or an assist) on a different day whilst Gregor did well in his short spell on the pitch, there were a few bits of good defending at the other end (positionally more than anything) by Kai Smutek and Luke Rathie) to keep the clean-sheet, Harry Gordon played to his usual standard, but largely it was a very, very comfortable win for the boys without being troubled too much.

A bit more on Gus Stevenson because he was excellent and a worthy ‘Man Of The Match’. He stamped his authority on the game right from the start and had an excellent first half (quieter in the second). He looked up for it, clearly wanted to make a good impression and he did exactly that. He used his body well to physically compete (evident in one particular instance out on the left-hand side of the penalty area in the first half where he was eventually fouled - only for the referee to play an advantage). His movement for his second goal was fantastic and a couple of minutes beforehand he’d also covered excellently in a defensive situation to stop the player in possession from beating him and getting goal-side after Gretna broke from a Hearts corner (top contribution) and even without his two goals, he showed all the qualities to make it easy to understand why he’s highly rated, why he’s in this team and been in the Scotland age-group teams regularly. I’ll remember this performance from him and I suspect he’s likely to become a key figure in this team over the next few years and if he plays like this every week then he’s going to do well. The one and only disappointment is that he didn’t complete his hat-trick in the second half (it happens) but he’s got plenty to feel proud about.

Likewise, Bailey Dall was good too. The contribution for the chance where Callum Sandilands hit the post was his best one (top footwork and aggression to force his opponent onto the back-foot and get the cross in). He deserved a goal for his overall performance as he was lively, quick and a constant attacking threat but it just seemed like he wasn’t going to score in a million years with fate conspiring against him (one of those days). But when you think of all the big moments/chances in this game in isolation, then he was involved in most of them - and that alone deserves credit. He’s got more to do to convince me with his bright red dancing shoes (not having them mate) but a confident Bailey Dall - playing like this with the shackles off and expressing himself so positively, is a pleasure to watch and whatever the future holds, I’ve got a lot of respect for him.

With three games left to go, the lads now have a really good chance of finishing second in the league which will be quite a good reward for the work they’ve put in throughout the season. They’ve had dips - the defeat at Caledonian Braves probably being the nadir moment, they’ve got their bogey teams (probably a few grimaces at the mere mention of Cowdenbeath or Stirling University), and they’ve had to overcome certain setbacks such as Mak Kirk’s loan to a higher level and losing their chief goal threat in the process. 

But recently, since Caledonian Braves, they’ve found another level and beat some decent teams in challenging environments or on crap pitches (yes I’ve seen the photos from Broomhill - think they had the donkeys out grazing on the pitch in the days beforehand). They’ve put shifts in to achieve six straight wins and that’s down to the quality they’ve got in the group plus the fact they’re a good set of lads anyway (most important thing and can tell it a mile off) with players I’ve got nothing but massive respect for in knowing what they can produce.

I’ll hopefully be able to make one more game between now and the end of the season and witness another good performance and I'll be checking train times, etc, to see what fits in the next few days.

Good luck to Gretna for the rest of the season. I enjoyed my visit, didn’t have to stay the night or get married as my train home wasn't canceled and I think they’ve got marginally more to offer to the Lowland League than Edinburgh University - even though it’s hard for them being an something of an outpost compared to all the other teams in the division.

Team: Liam McFarlane, Bailey Dall, James Wilson, Callum Sandilands, Murray Thomas, Gus Stevenson, Harry Gordon, Adam Forrester (Rocco Friel), Luke Rathie, Kai Smutek, Mack Ross (Gregor Crookston). Unused Subs: Jack McConnell, Kenzi Nair, Lennon Thompson, Lucas Smith.