***Heart Of Midlothian v St Johnstone Official Match Thread ***

[Watt-Zeefuik]

Just now, A_A wehatethehibs said:

That’s the big thing for me. They aren’t scruffy lump it in the box type goals we score. They are well executed team goals there’s been so many this season. We just have that patience and calm head to dissect teams. Obviously it doesn’t go that way every time but it’s definitely a pattern. We invite teams to play a bit then we body them

 

Istanbul was probably the clearest example of this for me. For the start of the game I thought we were doing well because we had the ball in their half with nothing going forward. It took me a while that their CHs would just sit on the ball and do nothing if they weren't under pressure and didn't see anything they liked in front of it. It was far more static than anything I would have thought was "good" football but then when they did come forward they were absolutely clinical and cut us to shreds.

[ri Alban]

Just now, JudyJudyJudy said:

I see Robbie keeping that hairstyle.  its growing on me .  

It's growing on him. Needs cut.

[Hearts007]

Just now, JudyJudyJudy said:

I see Robbie keeping that hairstyle.  its growing on me .  

but not on him

[Mr Kipling]

Well done Hearts. First half wasn't great. Pleased with the second half though. Kio played well I thought for his 10 mins or so. Hope Ginnelly is OK - looks like he is icing his groin. Happy to see Kuol just about score too. 

[JudyJudyJudy]

Just now, Morgan said:

😊

[JudyJudyJudy]

Just now, ri Alban said:

It's growing on him. Needs cut.

 

[Morgan]

1 minute ago, Hearts007 said:

but not on him

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

1 minute ago, Hearts007 said:

but not on him

graas doesnt grow on a busy street. i believe 

[ri Alban]

@Jambo 4 Ever 

[Bauld]

With hibs winning that was a very important victory for us to keep the gap between 3rd and 4th.

 

A job well done

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

oh well that was a pleasant surprise today. great...well done hearts..couldnt get a ticket for love or money today. 

[Morgan]

Just now, ri Alban said:

@Jambo 4 Ever 

 

 

Even the scarf looks right.  

[Cade]

Didn't play great.

Still won 3-0.

 

[King prawn]

9 minutes ago, Led Tasso said:

 

Yep. Hasn't generated anything dangerous but held possession and recycled the ball. A bit reminiscent of Miguel Pallardo.

Had a good through ball to McKay was it ? Down the channel. Didn’t do anything wrong and won his tackles. 

[ri Alban]

Cannae wait til Beni and Boycie come back into this team. 

 

 

 

What's with Sibbick? 

[King prawn]

2 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

@Jambo 4 Ever 

 

[King prawn]

Good win that - 3-0 without really looking like we got out of second gear. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

1 minute ago, King prawn said:

Had a good through ball to McKay was it ? Down the channel. Didn’t do anything wrong and won his tackles. 

I can't bring it to mind but it would be fitting with his composed shift.

[Sooks]

Not sure I will be able to enjoy the highlights later . I read on here that we were not brilliant in the first half 

[Gorgierools]

9 minutes ago, JudyJudyJudy said:

oh well that was a pleasant surprise today. great...well done hearts..couldnt get a ticket for love or money today. 

Plenty on the exchange 

[Shooter McGavin]

Not our best performance, but a clean sheet, 3 goals and an important 3 points.

[jambopilms]

Another game where the opposition manager will say it wasn't a 3-0 match.

better than recent weeks but still long periods where we look poor.

 

Grant and Kio are better players than their game time suggests, it's a mystery why they have been ignored even when we have been playing badly.

 

I predict Kuol will never play for Newcastle.

[Fxxx the SPFL]

Bit of fisticuffs after in mcleod st balaclava neds presumably saints and young team

[Tynecastle_Park]

Good albeit an expected result.

 

Didn't think we played well but took our chances and got the 3 points.

 

Now onto Wednesday, and one half of the bum cheeks!

[Bazzas right boot]

Easy win.

Clinical and had some good attacking play.

Midfield still a worry, if we are playing out from the back we need better.

 

Good goals from Gino,  couple assists for the boy with the blue boots.

 

Clean sheet.

 

 

[OTT]

Grant played extremely well, really pleased for him to get a goal too. I was a bit worried we'd lack that disrupter in midfield with Cammy on the bench. Thought Grant paired really well with Snodgrass and gave us quality on the ball. Composed is how I would describe him. Having been critical of him for large parts of the season, I'm really pleased to see him put in the sort of display we expected when he signed. 

 

Kio's cameo was also encouraging. He looked composed on the ball and did positive things with it. Again, having been really critical its nice to see some positives from him. Hopefully he continues this assured form and can play a key role as we close out the season. 

 

Positive is that our gap is maintained but disappointed Hibs managed the win. Livi seem to give us more trouble... 

[Arry]

Good cameo appearance from Kio.  Neat and tidy, maybe there’s a player in there after all. 

Edited March 4, 2023 by Arry

[CMc]

24 minutes ago, Bauld said:

With hibs winning that was a very important victory for us to keep the gap between 3rd and 4th.

 

A job well done

 

Yup. Hibs are Losing their next two though. 
 

Hope Goodwin sends Utd out to kick the shit out of the sheep. Soften them up for us. 
 

our game at Pittodrie is a big one and our recent record there is poor. 

[Pasquale for King]

4 minutes ago, Tynecastle_Park said:

Good albeit an expected result.

 

Didn't think we played well but took our chances and got the 3 points.

 

Now onto Wednesday, and one half of the bum cheeks!

Usual stuff, we make teams look good but end up winning easily enough. 

[Pasquale for King]

2 minutes ago, Arry said:

Good cameo appearance from Kio.  Neat and tidy, maybe there’s a player in there after all. 

Thought everyone that came in did well tbf. 

[Naisys Tackle]

32 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Get in 

[hearts00]

Solid enough today. 
 

Good to see Grant play and he should.

Kingsley looking much better. 
McKay taken a lot of criticism but that’s 4 assists in three games, so Robbie got it right in not dropping him. 
The balance of the midfield remains a problem, and I think the problem is Snodgrass. Just too slow off the ball. 
Hill improved after a poor first half but it would be Sibbick for me. 
 

[GBJambo]

Good win . And good that Hibs beat the team that will challenge us for third 

[Pasquale for King]

Definitely less passing about at the back and Snodgrass wasn’t taking it off the CHs feet as much. 
Decent performance without having to do too much, thought everyone played well. 

[GBJambo]

Would play Grant Devlin and Snodgrass on Wednesday night 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

1 minute ago, hearts00 said:

Solid enough today. 
 

Good to see Grant play and he should.

Kingsley looking much better. 
McKay taken a lot of criticism but that’s 4 assists in three games, so Robbie got it right in not dropping him. 
The balance of the midfield remains a problem, and I think the problem is Snodgrass. Just too slow off the ball. 
Hill improved after a poor first half but it would be Sibbick for me. 
 

Agreed on all points, except that I give Hill credit for his defence even though his passing was poor.

 

Snodgrass has been sussed unfortunately. I'd like to see Kio sitting deep in midfield with some two out of Devlin, Grant, and McKay in front of him in midfield.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

Enjoyed the game. Played as well as we needed to. Most of the squad got an outing. Gino motm, very close to a hat trick when he nipped in front of his marker but just couldn't guide it home.

[CMc]

Saw a lot of talk on the thread earlier regarding frustration around the passing approach and a wish to be more direct. 
 

I think today exemplifies why it has been successful for us. 50% more passes than the opposition, 60/40 possession split and score twice after the hour having tired them out. 
 

Good result. 

[millerjames398]

34 minutes ago, ri Alban said:

@Jambo 4 Ever 

😂😂😂👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🇱🇻🇱🇻🇱🇻

[Naisys Tackle]

4 minutes ago, GBJambo said:

Good win . And good that Hibs beat the team that will challenge us for third 

Livi arent even in the top 6.

 

Nobody will challenge us for 3rd. 

[best in the land]

24 minutes ago, Shooter McGavin said:

Not our best performance, but a clean sheet, 3 goals and an important 3 points.

It's a regular theme which I'll take.

Just wish we'd get a better performance as well on occasion 

[sac]

5 hours ago, Wee Mikey said:

 

Bunnahabhain, ye Sassenach, ye. 😆

 

Slàinte mhath. 🥃

😂

[GBJambo]

2 minutes ago, Robbies Tackle said:

Livi arent even in the top 6.

 

Nobody will challenge us for 3rd. 

Just think they are a stuffy side .
We will be well clear of Hibs etc shortly . 

[whodanny]

Good win, not outstanding, but we did all we needed to do, including the clean sheet. Well played Hearts.

[best in the land]

9 minutes ago, GBJambo said:

Good win . And good that Hibs beat the team that will challenge us for third 

Never want hibs to win.

[Harry Potter]

Enjoyed that today, great having the game sown up early.

[stirlo]

Played some good stuff without really hitting top gear - but still won 3-0. Very important win to consolidate our position in third and for confidence with the games coming up this week.

[Luckies1874]

31 minutes ago, Cade said:

Didn't play great.

Still won 3-0.

 

 

 

31 out of 33 available points at Tynecastle in games out with the Old Firm is possible the most positive aspect of this season so far. It is that excellent record that is making us the big favourites for consecutive 3rd place finishes. 

 

Despite not playing nearly as well as we can for significant periods, in numerous of the 6 home games (forget Rangers), since the split, the fact remains we have won:

 

3-1 v Killie

3-0 v Hibs

1-0 v St Mirren

5-0 v Aberdeen

3-1 v Dundee Utd

3-0 v St Johnstone

 

It is a brilliant return and shows that the players know how to get it done and indeed score goals (we have 34 at Tynecastle). Of course we now don't get the confines of Tynecastle for a league game for another 5 weeks which will test us again as our return of just 14pts from 39 away (and just 14 goals) is a sign that we simply aren't as resilient and Neilson has not got the best out of the players on the road. We can make the chase for 3rd so much easier by winning a couple of matches away from home but at least we do have the comfort of knowing there is no reason why we can't beat St Mirren, Ross County and probably Hibs and one of Livingston/Aberdeen back in Gorgie. 

[Naisys Tackle]

6 minutes ago, GBJambo said:

Just think they are a stuffy side .
We will be well clear of Hibs etc shortly . 

True and true.

[Luckies1874]

5 minutes ago, GBJambo said:

Just think they are a stuffy side .
We will be well clear of Hibs etc shortly . 

 

Next 3 league games are Celtic (A), Aberdeen (A) and Kilmarnock (A). We only got a point due to an injury time equaliser  in these 3 fixtures earlier in the season. Plenty of work to do yet. Unfortunately we have no league game at Tynecastle for 5 weeks given how good our points return is at home this season.