***Official Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen Match Thread***

[Ex member of the SaS]

Far too often we mess around at the back and missed placed passes and too slow moving the ball nearly cost us. We showed how we can play and a bit more mixing it up between holding retention and getting forward produces a fantastic result. A result we have need for a while and just a shame it was not against St;

[JimmyCant]

7 hours ago, Led Tasso said:

 

TBF there were four clubs this afternoon before the match. . .

 

 

I believe the coaching staff saw what St. Mirren did and knew that it would become the book on us. We went long and with high wings all night looking for those chances in behind. Aberdeen played as high a line as you'll see against us trying to get that pressure on the midfield, and we went right around it.

 

Enormous credit to Smith as well. The right and midfield combo of Sibbick, Snodgrass, Hill, Smith, Shankland, and Gino was rampant tonight, just pouring in chance after chance after getting behind them.

Agreed. Going after Snodgrass and pressing in our half is the way to go but your defence has to be better than they are. Play a high line against us and you better have pace in your back line or you’ll get done time and time again. I really thought they’d sit in and use Duk and Miovski on the break but they’ve left the back door open and we’ve filled our boots without really hitting our top notes.

Edited January 19, 2023 by JimmyCant

[Debut 4]

3 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Agreed. Going after Snodgrass and pressing in our half is the way to go but your defence has to be better than they are. Play a high line against us and you better have pace in your back line or you’ll get done time and time again. I really thought they’d sit in and use Duk and Miovski on the break but they’ve left the back door open and we’ve filled our boots without really hitting our top notes.

Big thing for me was doing the key things right whether some think we’ve played better or not?  I’m not sure how to interpret that?

 

Doing the key things well and much better than recently brings the best parts out of our technical players.  Seizing the moments to take chances is always he most important.  
 

Hearts are based on possession these days but we aren’t forgetting about what matters.  Arguably, and imo, the best Hearts teams over the decades were never possession teams.  It didn’t worry them if they had more of the ball or not, they were just better than most when it came to creating chances and scoring goals….throw in resolute defending when we had to aswell.

 

Very similar to last night,tbh.

[JimmyCant]

1 minute ago, Debut 4 said:

Big thing for me was doing the key things right whether some think we’ve played better or not?  I’m not sure how to interpret that?

 

Doing the key things well and much better than recently brings the best parts out of our technical players.  Seizing the moments to take chances is always he most important.  
 

Hearts are based on possession these days but we aren’t forgetting about what matters.  Arguably, and imo, the best Hearts teams over the decades were never possession teams.  It didn’t worry them if they had more of the ball or not, they were just better than most when it came to creating chances and scoring goals….throw in resolute defending when we had to aswell.

 

Very similar to last night,tbh.

One of the big differences for me is that, in central defence, we’ve gone fairly quickly from struggling with injuries and fitness and selection combinations and general form, to having 4 very good centre backs who are interchangeable without disrupting things and who can play a bit of football. We just look more organised and confident and add to that, we haven’t missed Craig Gordon at all due to a genius bit of recruitment.

[R1874]

Heres a question: we used 6 Englishmen last night

 

Is that a club record for players from one (non-scottish) country in a  game? 
 

Maybe got close with Lithuanians under Vlad 

[Riccarton3]

1 hour ago, Debut 4 said:

Big thing for me was doing the key things right whether some think we’ve played better or not?  I’m not sure how to interpret that?

 

Doing the key things well and much better than recently brings the best parts out of our technical players.  Seizing the moments to take chances is always he most important.  
 

Hearts are based on possession these days but we aren’t forgetting about what matters.  Arguably, and imo, the best Hearts teams over the decades were never possession teams.  It didn’t worry them if they had more of the ball or not, they were just better than most when it came to creating chances and scoring goals….throw in resolute defending when we had to aswell.

 

Very similar to last night,tbh

I think you can only go so far these days with any style not based on possession. Sometimes the play will not hit the heights for any number of reasons but you know there's a plan. Too many times I've wondered what exactly goes on at Riccarton when the players seemed like strangers on match days but now we seem to have a group that are all in it and buying into it

Edited January 19, 2023 by Riccarton3

[jbee647]

1 hour ago, Horatio Caine said:

Reading that Aberdeen forum chat... they actually think we were shit!  One even said that the Sheep were the better team!  WTAF?  

Hibs fans thought they were the better side at New Year

there is nothing more delusional than a Scottish football fan 

[Deevers]

7 hours ago, LeylandJambo said:

My 4 year old is sitting watching this with tears in his eyes, and asked, "Daddy... why won't they sack Jim Goodwin?

What are we supposed to tell our children? 

 

Feel sorry for the kid but funny as ****.

Just had a wee look at their fans forum. Some seriously deranged and deluded people posting there. 

[Debut 4]

1 hour ago, JimmyCant said:

One of the big differences for me is that, in central defence, we’ve gone fairly quickly from struggling with injuries and fitness and selection combinations and general form, to having 4 very good centre backs who are interchangeable without disrupting things and who can play a bit of football. We just look more organised and confident and add to that, we haven’t missed Craig Gordon at all due to a genius bit of recruitment.

👍🏻

[Debut 4]

11 minutes ago, Riccarton3 said:

I think you can only go so far these days with any style not based on possession. Sometimes the play will not hit the heights for any number of reasons but you know there's a plan. Too many times I've wondered what exactly goes on at Riccarton when the players seemed like strangers on match days but now we seem to have a group that are all in it and buying into it

Definitely.  Night and day compared to recent years.  

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

The last 2 games have been strange. A very patient approach, some of the passing in the own third maybe a bit too high risk, at times, but its working. Aberdeen didnt have the legs to press us last night nor the experience of how St Mirren and Livi make it habitually difficult.

 

We played very well in snatches last night without being foot perfect. Our organisation, team ethic and understanding are exceptional in relation to any team below 1st right now. 

 

Nitpicking, improvement needs to come in shifting the ball around the back, can be slack and nearly cost us, but it hasnt!

[Francis Albert]

A few morning after thoughts.

 

As others posted it was one of Collum's better (or less bad performances) but he would have missed two of our goals absent VAR though admittedly they were close calls to spot in real time. And a few bizarre decisions ... especially the phantom penalty!

 

Back to our more normal commentary team thankfully. But while I prefer the commentary not to be TOO partisan and have defended them for being honest rather than see everything through maroon timted glasses I thought they overdid the "against the run of play" stuff as we built up our lead,  and even when we were 4-0 and 5-0 up. The object of the game is to score goals and when a team has built up that sort of lead the other statistics are not very relevant  We could also have had another two or three with luck.

 

As usual I found some of our slow build up play and constant passing backwards frustrating, in the first half particularly, but the difference last night was that that phase was often followed by a long ball/ great pass that opened up the game  and purt us in a good attacking positions with players quick to get forward to support.. Happy with patient ball retention if it is follwed by some threat (including now if it wins a throw in Hill's range!).

[CornhillHearts]

Aaron's vlog from last night, enjoy

 

 

[Debut 4]

Just now, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

The last 2 games have been strange. A very patient approach, some of the passing in the own third maybe a bit too high risk, at times, but its working. Aberdeen didnt have the legs to press us last night nor the experience of how St Mirren and Livi make it habitually difficult.

 

We played very well in snatches last night without being foot perfect. Our organisation, team ethic and understanding are exceptional in relation to any team below 1st right now. 

 

Nitpicking, improvement needs to come in shifting the ball around the back, can be slack and nearly cost us, but it hasnt!

 

 

Otherwise, agree and good post. 😁

 

We can’t slip into cockiness at the back when trying to play out. 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

1 minute ago, Debut 4 said:

 

 

Otherwise, agree and good post. 😁

 

We can’t slip into cockiness at the back when trying to play out. 

Its a good thing, that bit of swagger, it will bite us some day, how we got the 2nd goal, they have gone to sleep as we patiently wait. Really keen to see Rangers game how it works out against decent opposition

[chester copperpot]

11 hours ago, munro9 said:

https://afc-chat.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/46442-hearts-v-aberdeen/page/17/
 

go on! You know you want to!!

 

 

Poundland Phillip Schofield

 

[Francis Albert]

17 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

A few morning after thoughts.

 

As others posted it was one of Collum's better (or less bad performances) but he would have missed two of our goals absent VAR though admittedly they were close calls to spot in real time. And a few bizarre decisions ... especially the phantom penalty!

 

 

Phantom corner of course.

 

And VAR worked for us last night but we'd have been disappointd if the decisions had gone against us  if roles reversed.. There was no obvious error at the penalty decision - our fans nearest the penalty incident did not seem ro react much. And the offside was too close to call in realtime or even in a replay not in line with the players involved. Again no obvious error ... but is that no longer a criterion?

 

Anyway ... not complaining!

[number-16]

3 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

Phantom corner of course.

 

And VAR worked for us last night but we'd have been disappointd if the decisions had gone against us  if roles reversed.. There was no obvious error at the penalty decision - our fans nearest the penalty incident did not seem ro react much. And the offside was too close to call in realtime or even in a replay not in line with the players involved. Again no obvious error ... but is that no longer a criterion?

 

Anyway ... not complaining!

First point, I sit in G and the fans around me were shouting for it.

 

If the referee had seen it and decided it was a natural position then it wasn't an obvious error but a subjective decision.  I assume the referee never noticed the hand ball at all to make a ruling so that's where the clear error comes into play.

 

Offside is objective (in this case at least as he's played the ball). You're either onside or you're not.

[Cameronstheman]

The GD is like an extra point right now after last night thrashing, the sheep were on +3 we were on +6.. Now -2 sheep and +11 for Hearts, nice we 10 goal turn around 

 

Great stuff

[kingantti1874]

We are a LOT better than Aberdeen.  Look at the players not available last night or just coming back

 

Gordon, Halkett, Kingsley, Beni, Haring, Boyce, Kuol.  
 

 

all of these players walk into the Aberdeen team. 

[LeylandJambo]

1 hour ago, Deevers said:

Just had a wee look at their fans forum. Some seriously deranged and deluded people posting there. 

Too used to interacting with sheep. They dont know how to handle human company.

[Thomaso]

My thoughts on last night.

Firstly fantastic result but I have seen us play better this season and not win.

Our back three were solid in defence, winning headers and tackles but I thought their distribution from the back was a bit messy at times.

Snoddy had one of his poorest games in phases and put us in a bit of trouble three times in the first half with sloppy passes. Better teams could have punished us.

Gino and Shankland put in a power of work and richly deserved their goals, as did Smith and Devlin.

Anyway winning 5-0 when not at our very best shows how far this team has come.

 

[Chillidigits]

I  thought sheep were pretty decent on the front foot and on another day might have taken advantage of some slack passing from us. We must guard against that with Sunday in mind because it seemed like the more thinking time they gave us when building from the back,the more unforced errors we were making. However at the other end of the pitch we absolutely destroyed them with our clinical finishing. All in all it was one of the weirdest 45 minutes I've witnessed watching Hearts.

[OmiyaHearts]

The more I see the 4th goal, the more I appreciate Shanklands assist. What a lovely touch.

[JAYEL]

13 minutes ago, OmiyaHearts said:

The more I see the 4th goal, the more I appreciate Shanklands assist. What a lovely touch.

Great movement from Josh as well , runs behind the defender then nips in front and a beautiful finish

[Chimp]

47 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

We are a LOT better than Aberdeen.  Look at the players not available last night or just coming back

 

Gordon, Halkett, Kingsley, Beni, Haring, Boyce, Kuol.  
 

 

all of these players walk into the Aberdeen team. 

Haring doesn’t. Agree about the rest though 

[Francis Albert]

2 hours ago, number-16 said:

First point, I sit in G and the fans around me were shouting for it.

 

If the referee had seen it and decided it was a natural position then it wasn't an obvious error but a subjective decision.  I assume the referee never noticed the hand ball at all to make a ruling so that's where the clear error comes into play.

 

Offside is objective (in this case at least as he's played the ball). You're either onside or you're not.

I wasn't there. The front rows of the Roseburn which the camera showed seemed not to react much. But of course Section G might have been different.Offside may be "objective" but may be too close to call to ref and linesman in real time. The Hearts TV commentators only callied both decisions  correctly after several replays and the Hearts players did not seem too virulent in their appeals. "Clear error"? Hmmmm. Still if the decisioins go our way I am happy...

[Stupid Sexy Flanders]

6 hours ago, Horatio Caine said:

Reading that Aberdeen forum chat... they actually think we were shit!  One even said that the Sheep were the better team!  WTAF?  

 

I was just about to say the same thing, they were beaten by a "dross Hearts team" apparently. 

 

Hibs fans were saying the same thing after the derby. Eight goals without reply in two games though. It's all about opinions though I suppose. 🙄

[Rogue Daddy]

51 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

I wasn't there. The front rows of the Roseburn which the camera showed seemed not to react much. But of course Section G might have been different.Offside may be "objective" but may be too close to call to ref and linesman in real time. The Hearts TV commentators only callied both decisions  correctly after several replays and the Hearts players did not seem too virulent in their appeals. "Clear error"? Hmmmm. Still if the decisioins go our way I am happy...

I think THIS is how VAR is supposed to work. I watched on the TV and missed it in 'realtime'... I think the ref missed it also (as there's always plenty going on at corners etc). However, even although I'm in no doubt that it was accidental, it has denied Rowels a clear goal scoring chance (which makes it different from Kye's handball on Friday)... by that I mean the handball has taken the ball away from his head - something that is clear in the replays. I don't blame Collum for missing it, but this is why VAR was brought in - he missed it, VAR checked it and asked him to have another look. Clear penalty for me looking at the replay.

[Francis Albert]

1 hour ago, Rogue Daddy said:

I think THIS is how VAR is supposed to work. I watched on the TV and missed it in 'realtime'... I think the ref missed it also (as there's always plenty going on at corners etc). However, even although I'm in no doubt that it was accidental, it has denied Rowels a clear goal scoring chance (which makes it different from Kye's handball on Friday)... by that I mean the handball has taken the ball away from his head - something that is clear in the replays. I don't blame Collum for missing it, but this is why VAR was brought in - he missed it, VAR checked it and asked him to have another look. Clear penalty for me looking at the replay.

Thanks that sounds correct and fair as far as our penalty is concerned. 

Their disallowed goal was probably in the end a correct decision technically though looked  very close on my PC screen but I think there was no clear error by the officials in live play or based on the replays I think on VAR. But grateful for the two goal swing in GD anyway!

 

 

[GinRummy]

4 hours ago, OmiyaHearts said:

The more I see the 4th goal, the more I appreciate Shanklands assist. What a lovely touch.

It’s such a clever ball. Gino smart to it as well. Those two developing a good understanding. 

[Cut The Crap]

1 hour ago, Stupid Sexy Flanders said:

 

I was just about to say the same thing, they were thrashed by a "dross Hearts team" apparently. 

 

Hibs fans were saying the same thing after the derby. Eight goals without reply in two games though. It's all about opinions though I suppose. 🙄

 

FTFY

[Watt-Zeefuik]

This is excellent slo-mo work by the media team. I particularly love the Smith one, as you can see the crowd one-by-one realize what he's done with his first touch and what's coming.

 

 

Also watching Shanks watch his ball fall perfectly for Gino then celebrate Gino's scoring touch.

 

 

[Jack Torrance]

Looks like I picked the wrong fortnight for a holiday 😄

 

Great performance going by reports and highlights. Well done The Hearts. On to the wee team.

[Jack Torrance]

Looks like I picked the wrong fortnight for a holiday 😄

 

Great performance going by reports and highlights. Well done The Hearts. On to the wee team.

[Tommy Walker]

Hearts vs Aberdeen – data viz, stats and insights

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/stats-pack/scottish-premiership-2022-23-hearts-vs-aberdeen-data-viz-stats-and-insights

[GarryJ-o-s]

Apologies if done elsewhere, but has anyone seen definitively if Ginnelly either did or did not get a touch for the first goal? Every angle I’ve seen seems impossible to tell and his celebration suggests he got a touch.

[Wee Mikey]

4 minutes ago, GarryJ-o-s said:

Apologies if done elsewhere, but has anyone seen definitively if Ginnelly either did or did not get a touch for the first goal? Every angle I’ve seen seems impossible to tell and his celebration suggests he got a touch.

 

I'd say yes.

 

https://twitter.com/JamTarts/status/1615997626591154181/mediaviewer

 

[cookieboy]

On 14/01/2023 at 17:54, cookieboy said:

this is the night it ALL clicks . 5 nil Heart of Midlothian 

just remembered i said this hahaha

[leipzig76]

1 minute ago, cookieboy said:

just remembered i said this hahaha

...And what about today matey ?

[cookieboy]

17 minutes ago, leipzig76 said:

...And what about today matey ?

3 or 4 / they might get 1 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

On 19/01/2023 at 16:16, Tommy Walker said:

Hearts vs Aberdeen – data viz, stats and insights

https://totalfootballanalysis.com/stats-pack/scottish-premiership-2022-23-hearts-vs-aberdeen-data-viz-stats-and-insights

Thanks for this, really shows that we weren’t lucky, just better than them. xG isn’t the be all and end all but 3-1 there seems reasonable. The penalty really was just a bit of bad luck for them but other than that we were fully worthy of the score.

[leipzig76]

18 minutes ago, cookieboy said:

3 or 4 / they might get 1 

I like the sound of that as i am sitting here having kittens about today's match.

[CostaJambo]

No sound on HTV or just me?