Hearts B had to settle for a point after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Gretna 2008 in the Lowland League in Pilton on Friday night.
Callen Robb’s composed second-half penalty looked to have put the Wee Jambos on course for victory before Hayden Tait’s late header ensured the spoils were shared in Edinburgh.
Angus Beith made four changes following last Friday’s 3-0 defeat to Cumbernauld Colts. Charlie Sanders, Callen Robb and Euan Banks returned to the starting XI, while Owen Muirhead, Jayden Mathie, Jaedon Donkor and Taylor Hogarth dropped out.
It was a proud moment for 16-year-old academy midfielder Boyd Fraser, who made his first start for the B Team in the Lowland League.
Gretna threatened early on with a couple of dangerous free-kicks. Short had a golden opportunity to give the visitors the lead from close range, but Jack Lyon reacted sharply to produce a smart save, although the offside flag had already been raised.
Short soon tested Lyon again with a powerful header, but once more the striker’s effort was ruled out for offside.
At the other end, Keir McMeekin tried to spark the Hearts attack. The midfielder drove purposefully into the box and unleashed a left-footed strike, but Jim Atkinson gathered comfortably in the Gretna goal.
Half-time: Hearts 0-0 Gretna
Hearts made the breakthrough nine minutes into the second half. Liam Walker’s cross from the left struck the hand of Iain Anderson inside the area and the referee had little hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Robb stepped up and confidently fired his penalty into the bottom-left corner to give the Wee Jambos the advantage.
Connor Dow nearly doubled the lead moments later, angling a strike towards the far corner from a tight position, but Atkinson was equal to it with a strong stop.
Gretna eventually found their equaliser with 20 minutes remaining when Tait arrived unmarked at the back post to nod past Lyon.
Sam Dickov almost restored Hearts’ lead on 79 minutes with a curling effort from just outside the box that drifted inches wide.
Tait then came within a whisker of grabbing a second for the visitors after racing through on goal, only to see his powerful effort crash back off the crossbar.
Hearts had one final chance deep into stoppage time when substitute Taylor Hogarth met a cross from close range. Atkinson saved the initial effort and the ball nearly trickled over the line before Gretna scrambled clear, forcing the Wee Jambos to settle for a share of the points.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website at full-time, Angus Beith said:
“I think we obviously had a couple of chances at the end. That was probably a frustration throughout the game is that we probably didn't put them under enough pressure. But we had some really nice bits of play from build-up moments and through the middle of the pitch.
“We just weren't enough of a threat. We obviously had a couple of really good moments towards the end there to make it 2-1. Potentially the ball's over the line, but difficult for the linesman to see. We finished with a flurry, but couldn't get the goal unfortunately.
But I think lots of really pleasing aspects tonight, particularly with how we pass the ball. A lot of younger guys playing, getting exposure to this league, so it was really pleasing to see them play tonight.”
The manager reflected on Boyd Fraser’s debut for Hearts B in the Lowland League.
“Yeah, I think he was 16 yesterday, I believe. So yeah, chucked him straight in. Similar to Robbie [Flockhart] a couple of weeks back when he turned 16.
“I just feel delighted that I've got the opportunity to give these guys these opportunities in this league, and obviously our journey is coming to an end in the Lowland League, so they're not going to get any of these opportunities again beyond the summer.
So I feel it's just a great opportunity to get them in and get them to feel men's football, which is just completely different to what they're used to in the academy.
“I thought Boydie tonight was first class. Just a joy to watch. I just had a smile on my face when I was at the side of the pitch, myself, Jama and Lee and Ross, watching them play, taking the ball under pressure and wriggling away from challenges, showing like real personality.
“I think he was one of the loudest, certainly on the pitch for us tonight. So, a joy to watch him, and I think Robbie got his welcome to the Lowland League tonight when the boy came across him and he ended up face-planting when he was going up for a header. So, that was his proper welcome to Lone League football, but hopefully these are just brilliant learning experiences for him that they can take forward with him.”
Callen Robb got himself on the scoresheet against Gretna with his penalty, his fourth goal of the campaign so far for the B Team.
“I thought he was a threat on the last line for us all the time. I think some of the balls that we played were kind of more into wide areas rather than trying to really, really hurt them and balls like towards the goal for Cal to run onto.
“But yeah, obviously he'd not been out of the team, he'd obviously been getting substitute appearances, but he's not started in a while. So good to give him that opportunity and I'm delighted for him that he got the goal. Because he's probably feeling a little bit low on confidence right now with the limited starts that he's getting. So great for me to give him that opportunity tonight and great to see him score.”
Beith looked ahead to next Saturday’s test away to Bonnyrigg Rose in the Lowland League.
“The group that we've got tonight is the group that's going to go and play Dundee United on Monday in the 19s league. So it's really important how they rest and recover and they get ready for that game on Monday.
“There'll be a little bit of rotation and like different boys starting, but really important, like they're actually learning how to recover properly and make sure that they're in a position where they can do double game weeks because that's a massive part of football.
“They need to get ready for Monday first and then obviously the next game for us in the Lowland League is obviously a big one, and we look forward to it. I'm just really excited to see how these younger lads deal with the challenges that are coming thick and fast, both 19s and Lowland League over the next few weeks as we look ahead to the Youth Cup final as well. We're building towards that, so yeah, loads of excitement going into the next few games.”
Hearts: Lyon, Flockhart, Osborne ©, Dow (Dickov, 64’), Banks, Fraser, A. Wilson, Sanders (Ratcliffe, 77’), Walker (Donkor, 64’), Robb (Mathie, 77’), McMeekin (Hogarth, 77’)
Subs: MacDonald, Radcliffe, Hogarth, Dickov, Donkor, Mathie
Gretna: Atkinson, Tait, Service, McMurtrie, Atkinson, Short, Bell, Oram, Anderson, McKenzie, Gunn
Subs: Parker, Cranston, Skinner, Lamonby, Sinclair, TRIALIST
