*** Official Ross County Vs Heart of Midlothian match day thread

[chrystaf]

4 minutes ago, Hearts007 said:

think it was very close

Seen  it multiple times and Shanks definitely moved before Kingsley takes it. 

[chrystaf]

8 minutes ago, Paul Shark said:

I was highly sceptical about Nieuwenhof at first but he looks as if he might have something to offer with the right people in beside him. Your bang on about the others though. Real mistake playing Cochrane in the middle of the park today, Vargas can't play wide right and Sibbick can't play 3 games without ****ing something up. 

 

Spot on.  Especially re Vargas.  Why he doesn't play a more central role as a foil/back up for Shankland I do not know.  He was invisible for all of the second half.

[bobskeldon]

10 minutes ago, Shooter McGavin said:

Why do folk never voice their concerns about the squad when we’re on a good run?

 

Always 1 loss away from the usual p***, squad needs ripped up, half a dozen players suddenly not good enough etc.

 

So tedious.

Absolute nonsense! I and many others have been critical of our shape, style of play, baffling team selections, lack of pace, lack of guile, poor starts etc throughout our ‘fantastic’ run, not just today, or Ibrox or against Hibs.  But bash on….believe the hype!

[Smith&Weston]

Reaction on here is typical kickback.  Sibbick defending is not good enough at this level and Denholm is not the level for our midfield.  That said, we had enough chances to take something to the game and if we win 2 of the next 3 then we are home and hosed in 3rd.  The semi final performance is now our season, so let’s hope we sort the CB, CM and RB positions for that one.  Kent, Niewenhof and Lembikisa must start in a game where we need to have a go.

[AlimOzturk]

43 minutes ago, Gambo said:

We are truly fkd if Forrest/Devlin/Hoff/ Dexter/Atkinson/Cochrane are what this team are to built around.

Squad players at best if we want to put in more of a challenge.

Hoff/Forrest and Cochrane are absolutely solid SPL players who had off days today. Typical knee jerk reaction doubt you were anywhere to be seen during the undefeated run 

[Hearts_fan]

3 hours ago, Bazzas right boot said:

 

You can't, for example at a free kick you couldn't stand a inch in  front of the gk without it being offside.

 

If he's not trying to block the view or Influence play, why is he doing it?

The answer is, because he is trying to put the gk of from a offside position, therefore it's offside.

 

 

 

 

 

You could stand an inch in front of the goalkeeper if the ball isn’t in play. 

 

If the ball is in play and you’re within literally inches of the goalkeeper in any direction, it would be difficult to argue you’re not interfering.

 

However, Shanks was many feet away, and seemingly not blocking the view of the goalkeeper when the ball was kicked. The goalkeeper looked more hampered by his own teammates standing in front of the ball. They’re not obliged to put a wall up, but they did and interfered with their goalie’s view of the ball.  

 

To me, that’s what happened. Why should Shanks be penalised when it’s their own players that are blocking the goalie’s view of the ball. 

 

If the wall wasn’t there, the goalkeeper would have had absolutely no problem seeing the ball.

 

 

 

Edited March 16 by Hearts_fan

[chrystaf]

19 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Absolutely, not just a problem that has happened this season though. Whatever they do to get prepared for a game needs tweaked somehow, starting with the correct players playing the right formation and tactics would also help obviously. 

Yes, this was  us back to being a one half team, only it was both halves today.

[Pasquale for King]

11 minutes ago, Paul Shark said:

I was highly sceptical about Nieuwenhof at first but he looks as if he might have something to offer with the right people in beside him. Your bang on about the others though. Real mistake playing Cochrane in the middle of the park today, Vargas can't play wide right and Sibbick can't play 3 games without ****ing something up. 

 

Spot on, we play much better when Vargas is up front with passes behind the defence to stretch them and create space for Shankland. Baffling why we don’t play that way. 

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, chrystaf said:

Yes, this was  us back to being a one half team, only it was both halves today.

We were slightly better 2nd half and probably should’ve had a point but we still weren’t good enough. 

[Gambo]

2 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:

Hoff/Forrest and Cochrane are absolutely solid SPL players who had off days today. Typical knee jerk reaction doubt you were anywhere to be seen during the undefeated run 

😂😂😂😂

[AlimOzturk]

2 minutes ago, Gambo said:

😂😂😂😂

Well go on then comment about that run of wins..or about beating Celtic recently..or even Forrest recently picking up player of

the month awards..

 

Get a grip. One bad result in a so far great season happens. 

Edited March 16 by AlimOzturk

[Fozzyonthefence]

7 minutes ago, Gambo said:

😂😂😂😂

Clueless.  They’’d be s shoe in for any team outside the uglies. 

Edited March 16 by Fozzyonthefence

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

Just back from game 10mins ago , poor result but the bigger picture we've been on good run and without so many influential players was always going to be tough up there with them fighting for there life's 

[Pasquale for King]

12 minutes ago, Selkirkhmfc1874 said:

Just back from game 10mins ago , poor result but the bigger picture we've been on good run and without so many influential players was always going to be tough up there with them fighting for there life's 

Wow thats some trek, amazing dedication. Apart from Kent, McKay and Hoff who else were we missing?

Edited March 16 by Pasquale for King
Spelling

[pettigrewsstylist]

1 hour ago, Gambo said:

“And we walk away papering over huge cracks” is how I would put it.

 

We played no worse/no better than we have done for majority of season, luck went against us today.

A glimpse of life after Shankland perhaps. 

[JDK2020]

Pish, utter pish.

[SectionDJambo]

I’m actually quite content that the critics, who think Hearts have just been lucky this season, are hanging around. It wouldn’t do if all was rosy in the jkb garden. Some negativity keeps everyone on their toes. 
I am interested to know which teams in our league, other than Celtic and Rangers, these doubters think are better than Hearts and have, presumably, just been unlucky not be above us in the current league placing.

We entered this season with a rookie manager, who many wanted sacked by October, after a disastrous end to last season.  It’s probably fair to say that we’ve not been overly exciting to watch, but have become reasonably hard to beat, when we have enough key players available. We’ve managed to reach 2 cup semi finals as well, luckily enough. 
What is important now is how we react and perform for the rest of this season, and how we upgrade the playing staff going into next season.

I well remember another rookie manager, Alex MacDonald, losing to Forfar Athletic, at home, in the cup. He didn’t do so badly once he had a proper chance to assess his players and make the required improvements. Thank goodness the internet wasn’t around to hound him out after that Forfar game and failing to secure promotion in his first few months.

[SecN]

36 minutes ago, bobskeldon said:

Absolute nonsense! I and many others have been critical of our shape, style of play, baffling team selections, lack of pace, lack of guile, poor starts etc throughout our ‘fantastic’ run, not just today, or Ibrox or against Hibs.  But bash on….believe the hype!

Your wernae at those away games you listed though Bob. Just being critical for the sake of it. 

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

11 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Wow thats some trek, amazing dedication. Apart from Kent, McKay and Hoff who else were we missing?

Halkett, but Kent and Hoff are missed for sure imo

[Fozzyonthefence]

12 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Wow thats some trek, amazing dedication. Apart from Kent, McKay and Hoff who else were we missing?

We’ve obviously had to do without McKay pretty much all season but Kent and Hoff are big misses for us.  With Halkett also being out we don’t have a proper no nonsense CB.  Sibbick, Rowles and Kingsley are all too weak to play together.  
 

Midfield is constantly a problem area and Hoff has been a stand out there recently so no surprise he was a big miss.  
 

International break coming at the right time and hopefully both Kent and Hoff back soon or we’re just going to limp over the line and let a good season fizzle out.

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, Selkirkhmfc1874 said:

Halkett, but Kent and Hoff are missed for sure imo

Unfortunately the guy hasn’t played a full season for us, 37 games being his largest total in 2021-22, we simply can’t rely on him. 

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, Fozzyonthefence said:

We’ve obviously had to do without McKay pretty much all season but Kent and Hoff are big misses for us.  With Halkett also being out we don’t have a proper no nonsense CB.  Sibbick, Rowles and Kingsley are all too weak to play together.  
 

Midfield is constantly a problem area and Hoff has been a stand out there recently so no surprise he was a big miss.  
 

International break coming at the right time and hopefully both Kent and Hoff back soon or we’re just going to limp over the line and let a good season fizzle out.

Kent and Hoff definitely, Halkett really shouldn’t be part of the conversation having unfortunately only played 9 times in 2 seasons.

[Horatio Caine]

Wow! That match has fairly prompted some quite OTT reactions.

Let's just see how we go from here before jumping to rash judgements. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

There's a section of fans on here that I fully believe are devoted, spirited Hearts fans but whom will still look at our run of points this season and say, "yes but we didn't ACTUALLY PLAY well during that time . . ."

 

There's a subset of that group that still pine for Stendel's gegenpress.

 

I will say that I don't get it, which isn't that surprising as there's a great deal in this world that I don't get, but for me given the choice between winning ugly and losing pretty, I will take winning "ugly" every time. To me preferring to lose elegantly over a nervy, ground out win is Hibs AF.

 

Yes, you can win a game or two or maybe even five or six just getting lucky while not playing that well, but you simply do not win 14 out of 20 matches playing badly. Yes, we can aspire to a higher standard, but we compete in the SPFL Premiership and by our standard we've done quite well.

 

The point of football is to score more goals than the other team. Ultimately I don't give a shit about anything else vis a vis Hearts.

 

I also am frankly sick of hearing that players that have been key contributors in a period where we've gained 44 out of a possible 60 points as "not good enough for Hearts." They were plenty good enough to be on the pitch when we were winning by the truckload. To think we are going to have Paul Hartleys and Rudi Skacels or even Lawrence Shanklands at every position is madness.

 

Toby Sibbick is a maddening player given his obvious talent and the simple mental mistakes he's made. But he's also a bench player who came on and kept Celtic off the scorer's sheet in a fabulous home win just 13 days ago. I can agree that his time at Hearts may be drawing to a close but you can say that without being an abusive arsehole about a player that's given us some fantastic moments (in addition to, yes, some hair-pulling screaming) in his time.

 

He's plenty "good enough" to be at Hearts. Who TF do we think we are? Yes, I think and hope we can try for better but FFS behave.

Edited March 16 by Watt-Zeefuik

[Fozzyonthefence]

Just now, Pasquale for King said:

Kent and Hoff definitely, Halkett really shouldn’t be part of the conversation having unfortunately only played 9 times in 2 seasons.

True but the point being last season the defence was horrific without Halkett.  This season Kent has plugged that gap.  But with both of them missing the defence will be back to the same bombscare combinations we had to suffer last season.   

[Shooter McGavin]

49 minutes ago, bobskeldon said:

Absolute nonsense! I and many others have been critical of our shape, style of play, baffling team selections, lack of pace, lack of guile, poor starts etc throughout our ‘fantastic’ run, not just today, or Ibrox or against Hibs.  But bash on….believe the hype!

How many blood vessels did you burst typing that out? 😂

[pettigrewsstylist]

1 minute ago, Fozzyonthefence said:

True but the point being last season the defence was horrific without Halkett.  This season Kent has plugged that gap.  But with both of them missing the defence will be back to the same bombscare combinations we had to suffer last season.   

There were no real surprises today when faced with big forwards who wanted to battle.

[SectionDJambo]

4 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Unfortunately the guy hasn’t played a full season for us, 37 games being his largest total in 2021-22, we simply can’t rely on him. 

That injury he sustained from that terrible tackle during the cup semi final against Hibs, appears to have done him damage he won’t recover from.

I hope I’m wrong.

We need to strengthen in the centre back area instead of shoehorning other players in there to their detriment.

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, Fozzyonthefence said:

True but the point being last season the defence was horrific without Halkett.  This season Kent has plugged that gap.  But with both of them missing the defence will be back to the same bombscare combinations we had to suffer last season.   

Of course, we need another CH , or Neilson to contribute next season, as Rowles and Toby need a baby sitter to be average. 

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, pettigrewsstylist said:

There were no real surprises today when faced with big forwards who wanted to battle.

It was a slight surprise to see us make Murray look like Mbappe. 

[pettigrewsstylist]

Just now, Pasquale for King said:

It was a slight surprise to see us make Murray look like Mbappe. 

I wasnt surprised. It wasnt just Murray. 

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, SectionDJambo said:

That injury he sustained from that terrible tackle during the cup semi final against Hibs, appears to have done him damage he won’t recover from.

I hope I’m wrong.

We need to strengthen in the centre back area instead of shoehorning other players in there to their detriment.

Yeah I think you could be right, unfortunately. That was our first sight of Josh Campbell, who i sincerely hope is suffering just now.

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, pettigrewsstylist said:

I wasnt surprised. It wasnt just Murray. 

I was hoping after 3 games against them, all different managers right enough, that we would’ve negated their tactics and players better. 

[Italian Lambretta]

Just back from a long day and really can’t be bothered trolling through 31 pages. Here’s my quick take.

The second string are not good enough and certainly not up for the fight at places like Morton or Dingwall.

And secondly I just can’t be arsed with this game management policy Naismith has adopted from Neilson.

FFS just go out and win the game from the start and secure 3rd place.

[feej]

27 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Of course, we need another CH , or Neilson to contribute next season, as Rowles and Toby need a baby sitter to be average. 

Just watching the highlights Rowles is rank rotten.

[bawheed]

40 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Of course, we need another CH , or Neilson to contribute next season, as Rowles and Toby need a baby sitter to be average. 

Toby one too many mistakes, shame like the boy but has a brain fart every time he plays .

Think he will be of in the summer along with Fraser who is pish.

[J.T.F.Robertson]

16 minutes ago, bawheed said:

Toby one too many mistakes, shame like the boy but has a brain fart every time he plays .

Think he will be of in the summer along with Fraser who is pish.

 

Couldn't believe his farting around at their first, wtf was trying to do?

And it ain't the first time he's done similar, just clear the fekin thing.

 

[Pans Jambo]

3 hours ago, PortyBeach said:

People talk about a potential challenge for the League title, but the reality is potential champions don’t lose games to potential relegation candidates - assuming they’re realistic challengers. 
Dire stuff today…

Yip. Theres a massive collective who seem to think that Hearts are the ‘best of the rest’ but to fair, today showed we are not!

[Bongo 1874]

48 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

Yip. Theres a massive collective who seem to think that Hearts are the ‘best of the rest’ but to fair, today showed we are not!

Hearts will compete with anyone in our league, when we stop playing a certain way for certain players.

[leginten]

2 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

Yeah I think you could be right, unfortunately. That was our first sight of Josh Campbell, who i sincerely hope is suffering just now.

They were absolute ****ing animals in that semi-final. Disgusting. It took Kingsley a long time to recover from that game too. Newell crocked Halliday, Campbell tried to end McKay’s career, our players were halved every time we were on the break.

 

That little shite Maloney was still hurting from the defeat at Tynecastle the previous week and sent that mob out to cause injuries.

[Byyy The Light]

3 hours ago, Shooter McGavin said:

How many blood vessels did you burst typing that out? 😂

Hope the guy is ok, sending thoughts and prayers

[JFK-1]

8 hours ago, PortyBeach said:

People talk about a potential challenge for the League title, but the reality is potential champions don’t lose games to potential relegation candidates - assuming they’re realistic challengers. 
Dire stuff today…

 

There's no chance of winning a league title, but to be fair Rangers just lost at home to bottom 6 Motherwell who have been flirting with the relegation spots.

 

Even the OF will drop points even to what would be viewed as lesser teams, in fact it might be argued it's more often than not a lesser side that does it. Especially if they have a plastic pitch.

 

I still think Hearts are currently comfortably the best of the rest. Third place is still comfortable but post spit could be a real dogfight at the top with the OF neck and neck and each determined not to drop points. 

[Debut 4]

5 hours ago, Bongo 1874 said:

Hearts will compete with anyone in our league, when we stop playing a certain way for certain players.

There’s more to it than that.  Deep down I don’t think most fans really believe we are there yet with a team mostly made up of fearlessness when we approach bigger, harder matches on neutral ground.

 

We need a bit more “attitude”, a bit more ire about us when the chips are down, when the opposition come at us.  I’ve said before I do think we’ve largely got to a level we deal with most of the non-OF teams and that was the first step.  I know we’ve just beaten Celtic but when I speak to most Hearts fans I know, there’s still a nag surrounding the team when it comes to the crunch.

 

You look back to, say, 96-98 and the 3 finals.  Hammered in the first, great performance in the second but beaten, then the ultimate in the 3rd. Thats progress in mentality, quality and desire.  I’m not saying we’ll replicate any of that but the main point is where the team is currently at in certain aspects. 
 

Do the fans really, deep down, have a team they’d wake up to on a cup final morning and feel a buzz about?  Because that’s the next step the fans will look for if the team keeps progressing.  

 

[brawlad74]

15 hours ago, heatonjambo said:

We always leave Atkinson isolated

 

 

Yes, need to get the right side sorted in the summer. 

[jamboozy]

9 hours ago, Shooter McGavin said:

Why do folk never voice their concerns about the squad when we’re on a good run?

 

Always 1 loss away from the usual p***, squad needs ripped up, half a dozen players suddenly not good enough etc.

 

So tedious.

This. ☝️

[Pasquale for King]

8 hours ago, feej said:

Just watching the highlights Rowles is rank rotten.

He really is, so much for him bulking up a bit. 

[Pasquale for King]

7 hours ago, bawheed said:

Toby one too many mistakes, shame like the boy but has a brain fart every time he plays .

Think he will be of in the summer along with Fraser who is pish.

Unfortunately 👍🏽

[Pasquale for King]

6 hours ago, leginten said:

They were absolute ****ing animals in that semi-final. Disgusting. It took Kingsley a long time to recover from that game too. Newell crocked Halliday, Campbell tried to end McKay’s career, our players were halved every time we were on the break.

 

That little shite Maloney was still hurting from the defeat at Tynecastle the previous week and sent that mob out to cause injuries.

It was Newell and Doyle-Hayes that both tackled McKay at the same time, Campbell was a sub and was lucky not to see red too after Newell was sent off. 
But yes that little scroat sent them out to kick us off the park.

[kingantti1874]

we were playing a team fighting for their lives, we were unlucky with the pen and the free kick HOWEVER the game exposed the fragility in the squad.  
 

Hof and Kent have been enormous losses, a stretch too far on top of the other players missing. 
 

We are the best of the rest clearly, however we are no where near the old firm or a title challenge. 
 

With players moving on and players who ongoing injury challenges pretty clear we will need 4/5 players minimum again in the summer.

 

Danny Armstrong should be top target

[KyleLafferty]

Biggest compliment I can give Naisy and this Hearts team is, even when 2-0 down, I had full belief we could get back into the game. Under Neilson 2-0 was dead and buried. That’s a sign of how good Naismith has been for us this year.