Hearts 3 - 0 Inverness CT

League - Championship
Saturday, April 24th, 2021, 3:00 PM at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh
Referee: Bobby Madden
Hearts Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Gary Mackay-Steven (6)
Aaron McNeff (9)
Gary Mackay-Steven (31)
None.

Team Managers
Robbie Neilson Neil McCann

Starting Eleven
Craig Gordon
Michael Smith
John Souttar
Craig Halkett
Cammy Logan
Aaron McNeff
Peter Haring
Andy Halliday
Gary Mackay-Steven
Armand Granduillet
Liam Boyce
Mark Ridgers
Robbie Deas
Cameron Harper
Daniel Devine
Scott Allardice
David Carson
Sean Welsh
Scott Allan
Daniel Mackay
Nikolay Todorov
Miles Storey

Bench
Ross Stewart
Steven Naismith
Andy Irving
Mihai Popescu
Euan Henderson
Scott McGill
Finlay Pollock
Cameron Mackay
Kevin McHattie
Wallace Duffy
Roddy MacGregor
James Vincent
Arron Lyall
Shane Sutherland

Substitutions
Andy Irving -> Peter Haring (40)
Steven Naismith -> Armand Granduillet (65)
Finlay Pollock -> Gary Mackay-Steven (80)
Roddy MacGregor for Scott Allardice (46)
Arron Lyall for Nikolay Todorov (56)
Shane Sutherland for Miles Storey (73)

Bookings
None. David Carson (19)
Sean Welsh (57)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 155 apps -
Robbie Deas 32 apps1 goal
Daniel Devine 111 apps4 goals
Cameron Harper 37 apps -
Scott Allardice 32 apps3 goals
David Carson 54 apps1 goal
Sean Welsh 66 apps8 goals
Scott Allan 7 apps -
Daniel Mackay 56 apps11 goals
Miles Storey 96 apps21 goals
Nikolay Todorov 62 apps18 goals
Roddy MacGregor (sub) 56 apps2 goals
Arron Lyall (sub) 3 apps -
Shane Sutherland (sub) 119 apps9 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Cameron Harper (19 years 170 days)
Oldest Player:Sean Welsh (31 years 48 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 209 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Arron Lyall (17 years 219 days)
Oldest Player:James Vincent (31 years 217 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 32 days
Domestic Players:13 (72.22 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Hearts end our season

Our season looked over inside ten minutes after Mackay-Steven ran at the defence before drilling a low shot into the bottom corner as the defenders backed off. McEneff doubled the lead with the aid of a deflection in the ninth minute to nestle the ball in the bottom corner again. Mackay-Steven notched his second as he poked his leg in between Deas and Ridgers to kill the game with half an hour gone. The second half was an anti-climax for both sides with no further scoring, and with results elsewhere our challenge has come to an end.
______________________________________________________

After the disappointing draw with Dundee in midweek, our destiny was in the hands of others. All we can do is gather points and hope that others can lend a helping hand by taking points of Dunfermline and Dundee as we visit Tynecastle to take on Champions Hearts. All games kick-off at 3:00pm on Saturday, it's a massive day of football in the Championship.

Scott Allardice was cleared to play in this one but Brad Mckay was suspended after the disciplinary committee met on Friday to decide the outcome of the red cards against Dundee. In came Cameron Harper at left back with Miles Storey starting. Roddy MacGregor and Shane Sutherland would be the impact players on the bench.

Jamie Walker was not involved at Cappielow and Raith bound Cristophe Berra was also missing. Young defender Harry Cochrane has not signed a new contract and none of them would feature against Inverness. Neilson has twelve players out of contract this summer. Mackay-Steven came back into the side with Naismith and Henderson on the bench.

____________________________________________________

A sunny Tynecastle was echoing with the disturbed sound of silence as The Caley Jags clapped the Champions onto the park as this covid restricted game kicked off with no fans in attendance.

Scott Allardice had a shot deflected for a corner in the first minute and from the resultant cut back corner Scott Allan almost opened the scoring, his shot just clearing the bar.

Ridgers gathered a header from Gnaduillet but moments later Mackay-Steven was allowed to run at the defence unchallenged before drilling a superb low shot behind Ridgers. The lead was doubled when a slight deflection took the ball out of the keepers reach and right in the bottom corner, McEneff the one with the strike.

Gnaduillet almost got on the end of a great Haring cross to the back post as Hearts continued to dominate midway through the half, the ball getting knocked out for a goal kick as Ridgers and his defence closed him down.

Game over with half an hour gone when Deas and Ridgers got in a fankle and Mackay-Steven prodded the ball into the net as the keeper came to collect and Deas tried to usher. Nightmare half hour from the Caley Jags!

Ridgers saved from McEneff as Hearts threatened to run riot and the same two were involved before the interval as Hearts cigared it.

Half Time: 3-0

Roddy MacGregor replaced Scott Allardice at the break and Toddy forced Craig Gordon into a save as he shot from wide right, the keeper saving without spilling.

Despite a spirited second half showing especially from young substitute Arran Lyall the visitors failed to get a foothold in the game with Hearts looking more likely to add to their tally.

A tidy twisting run forward by Scott Allan ended with a stabbed shot which Gordon gathered comfortably with around ten minutes left.

Full Time: 3-0

In truth, we huffed and puffed while Hearts went through the motions without inflicting any further damage.

So a late run on the stand side ended at Tynecastle as we fell short of reaching our target of a play off slot. Them's the breaks and it was a familiar scenario of too little too late.

On the plus side, there's only one more preview and report to go...

Match report written by tm4tj



Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1. Hearts 26 16 6 4 59 24 35 54
2. Raith Rovers 26 12 7 7 45 32 13 43
3. Dundee 26 11 9 6 47 40 7 42
4. Dunfermline 26 10 9 7 38 33 5 39
5. Inverness CT 26 8 11 7 34 29 5 35
6. Queen of the South 26 9 5 12 38 49 -11 32
7. Arbroath 26 7 8 11 28 34 -6 29
8. Ayr United 26 6 10 10 29 35 -6 28
9. Morton 26 6 10 10 22 33 -11 28
10. Alloa Athletic 26 4 7 15 29 60 -31 19