Angus Beith was ‘delighted’ with his young Hearts B side as they defeated Albion Rovers 3-0 in their final ever home match at Ainslie Park in the Lowland League on Friday night.
Following a disappointing run of results, his team bounced back in the best way possible in Pilton. Second-half strikes from Connor Dow, Owen Muirhead and Euan Banks saw the Wee Jambos cruise to victory over Sandy Clarke’s side.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website at full-time, Angus Beith said:
“We were magnificent tonight. I've been frustrated in recent weeks in terms of being disappointed with us maybe not earning as quickly as we would have liked, and I saw a lot of individual improvements tonight and I thought as a team as well, we looked really, really solid, really compact, difficult to beat.
“Defending for the majority of the game with a real intensity about us and making good decisions went to press and went to stay more solid and compact. So delighted to see that learning transferring the game tonight.”
“A lot of very strong individual performances, I thought tonight as well. Special mention to Josh [Radcliffe] who has probably had a tougher few weeks. I thought he was magnificent tonight. Boyd [Fraser] there was top as well. Alfie [Osborne] looks really, really composed at this level now, ready to make a good next step. So really positive, delighted with the three goals and how ruthless we were in the second half and obviously a clean sheet as well.”
The Wee Jambos were full of energy in the first 45 and looked composed in their overall play, but they weren’t able to make the breakthrough. Beith explained what made the difference for his side in the second-half.
“The exact message that actually gave them right then was just turn the dial a little bit more and be a little bit more ruthless, because I thought we got into some really nice positions. And our last pass let us down a few times and we weren't probably making enough out of the scenarios we had.
“We got in between their midfield and defence and we had a few nice moments where we had fast attacks and we didn't quite hurt them enough. We probably didn't get as many of those situations in the second half, but when we did get them, we were ruthless, so that was really, really pleasing.”
Beith was full of praise for 16-year-old midfielder Boyd Fraser and is pleased with how quickly he’s adapted to Lowland League football.
“He's amazing. What a joy to work with, what a brilliant young player. I get excited when I'm watching him at the side of the pitch, he's demanding the ball, he's demanding from his teammates.
“He's anticipating all the time. He sees the game so quickly, so he's able to communicate and see pictures as well when he turns and gets his head up. A joy to watch at times.”
18-year-old Tommy North was another player who caught the eye of the Jambos’ support when he came on in the second half. Beith discussed his impact and exactly what he wants to see from the striker going forward.
“The power of the boy is exceptional, I've never seen a boy that age I think, that strong and that powerful, and he can sprint as well. He shows it in glimpses and like how he moves with the ball as well, for somebody so big. So we just need to see it a little bit more consistently from him, but tonight he showed that in flashes again which is exciting when he does it.
“So yeah, more to come from Tommy and I think that he's working hard to improve. He's had the loan spell, which I think overall, like although he's not played an awful lot, I'm sure that next season he'll get the opportunity to go out on loan again, so he'll be better for that experience and he knows what he needs to improve.
Beith looked ahead to Hearts B’s final match in the Lowland League against Cowdenbeath at Central Park next Saturday.
“I said a few weeks ago that we need to represent the club in the right way, although we're young, let's make sure that we see out the Lowland League and the four years that we've had in this league in the right manner, although we've not done that in weeks prior to this one, I thought the boys did it brilliantly tonight and we'll be looking to do the same at Cowdenbeath for the last one.”
