Hearts B were defeated in their away clash against Tranent in the Lowland League at Foresters Park on Saturday.
A brace from Dean Brett sealed all three points for the hosts in what was a frustrating afternoon in East Lothian for the Wee Jambos.
The Belters came out the traps the quickest in the first 45 and asked questions of the Hearts defence.
In the 4th minute, the ball was whipped in from the right to striker Cameron McKinley, who looked to hit one first time, but his effort was blocked and cleared from danger.
With 10 minutes gone, Tranent were awarded a penalty as McKinley was chopped down in the box. Dean Brett stepped up and dispatched his penalty into the bottom left corner for 1-0.
Aiden Haddow looked to help Hearts find an instant reply as he sprinted down the left wing and whipped in an inviting cross into the box, but there were no takers in the middle.
Shortly after, Tranent were incensed that a second goal wasn’t given from Euan Bauld’s headed effort from the corner, but play resumed and Hearts retained possession.
On 26 minutes, the hosts doubled their advantage as McKinley combined well with Brett into the box and he poked the ball into the bottom corner for 2-0.
It could have been 3-0 if it wasn’t for Hearts defender Lucas Smith who sprinted back into the box and made a brilliant clearance off the line.
Half-time: Tranent 2-0 Hearts
Hearts looked to drag themselves back into the game in the second 45.
Following some neat play from the Jam Tarts, it came to Owen Muirhead at the edge of the area who tried to place it into the bottom corner, but it was a comfortable take for Mason in goal.
The introduction of winger Jaedon Donkor injected some energy into the Hearts attack. Donkor dribbled to the edge of the box and hit a powerful strike on his left foot, but his strike didn’t come down as it sailed over the bar.
The Wee Jambos huffed and puffed, but the Tranent defence gave nothing away late on to spark a late comeback for Hearts, as they held on to secure the victory.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website at full-time, Angus Beith said:
“I’m disappointed with the goals that we conceded because they were cheap goals. The first one, we don't clear our lines, a penalty. The second one, we just get done off a long ball and overcommit in the wide area and then allow them to go through the middle of us. So, really disappointing from that perspective.
“But I think the boys showed a lot of character and fight today, which are qualities that you need when you come to this ground, this type of fixture. So I’m really pleased to see the character come through and a lot of the boys throughout the game. And we kept going right until the end and we just lacked a little bit of quality in the final third and perhaps a wee bit of luck as well.”
“Something that we've been working on recently in terms of anticipating and smelling those moments to get in the box and get across defenders and attack gaps. Because it's something that we can do better. I think we actually have two unbelievable chances in the first half where we have brilliant balls across the face in between goalkeeper and defence and we've not got players really, really smelling and anticipating to get across.
‘And as you say, just like doing everything they possibly can to just get a toe on it, so we've still got improvements in that area to make.”
Alfie Osborne captain today as well, is that a good chance for him to step up now, of course, with Kai off on loan and Gregor as well.
With skipper Kai Smutek on loan to Hamilton, Alfie Osborne stepped up to take the captain’s armband. Beith reflected on this decision.
“He needs to keep getting louder. I think it's something he's slowly getting better at. But I thought overall it was a pretty strong performance from him. He's certainly improving in the air. His recognition and understanding of slight danger and recognising when he just needs to clear his lines is improving as well, which is obviously key in this league and in Scotland. So, a really pleasing performance and he's making positive strides.”
With a trip to Linlithgow Rose up next, Beith looked ahead to his side’s next league fixture.
“Well, it's probably the best way they could prepare for Linlithgow Rose, because it's probably the most similar away tie that you'll get in the league. Brilliant for the boys to experience that, because there's a few boys that have played there that maybe haven't played loads of lowland league football, so delighted that they got this experience today.
