Angus Beith was pleased with the battling performance of his Hearts B side as they drew 3-3 against Broxburn Athletic at Albyn Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Wee Jambos were 2-1 up at half-time courtesy of goals from Connor Dow and Euan Glasgow. Broxburn brought it back to 2-2 in the second half before Bobby McLuckie’s deflected strike in the 82nd minute earned the Jambos a point in West Lothian.
Speaking to The Official Hearts Website at full-time, Beith said:
“Overall I'm really proud of the performance today. I think this is a really tough place to come. You've got the intimidation factor with the fans, tight pitch, the players that they were up against were really aggressive. You had to deal with two up front,long balls, diagonals and they've got good quality at the top end of the pitch as well. So I thought by and large, we stood up to that brilliantly.
“I think it's our best game in terms of passing the ball, we looked a real threat playing through and we had the threat of going in behind as well with Connor (Dow) and the wide players.”
Beith was frustrated to concede two goals early on in the second half, but he was pleased with how Hearts responded afterwards.
“I think the the big message is well at half time was to maintain those focus levels that we shown in the first hal .The wide free kick that we conceded from was disappointing, but I thought generally we were really on it and that was the disappointment that 10 minutes, after the the first half being so positive was poor from us.
“Our focus dropped a wee bit, we lost a few duels and they obviously scored two goals from set play situations and crosses. So disappointed with that, but the response was magnificent. I said earlier in the changing room, we looked a real threat and we looked like we were gonna be the team to go on and win the game and had loads of chances.”
The substitutes made a real impact in the second half for the boys in maroon as the team fought back to make it 3-3.
Beith added: “I thought all the subs did well when they came on. Henry (James) obviously having to go back into the back four and defensive situations that aren't easy, so I thought he was great when he came on.
“It was a really good experience for Josh (Radcliffe) because that was his first start, so well done to him. It's not an easy place to make your first start. He did well and lots of good experiences for him.
“I’m delighted for Bobby (McLuckie), who's been out with illness and struggled a wee bit and he's come on and really impacted the game and helped the team get a point. So I’m buzzing for him.”
With a quick turnaround to next Tuesday’s evening’s Lowland League home clash against Dumbarton, Beith said it was crucial to get a good performance, particularly in a congested period of fixtures.
“It was a really positive result and performance, I've relayed that back to the group. In the changing room, there's a good positive feeling there. They understand that they've got a wee bit to go yet in terms of maintaining those focus levels and minimising those mistakes in those periods as well where we're maybe up against it. But by and large it was a great performance and I’m proud of them today.”
