Airdrie v Hearts

[Galajambo]

chuffed to get through that one unscathed really (apart from Halk's injury), I felt we played well against a very impressive Airdrie side who never stopped running and chasing, I can see Airdrie making the play offs for sure! 

 

I was also dreading that plastic pitch as we don't usually play well on them, but that pitch puts tinpot outfits like Livingston and Hamilton to shame, it seemed really good to play on. 

[A Diamond For Me]

No complaints about that, I think 1-4 was a pretty fair score.  We'd have got beaten anyway if we tried to park the bus, so I'd rather see them have a go and create some chances, and our passing game was pretty good overall.  Hearts were just a much better team, the speed they played at was something we couldn't really handle and the pass to set up the move for their first goal superb.  The gap between them and St Johnstone is pretty vast on the evidence of the Cup games (and, obviously, the league table).

I thought we gave a decent account of ourselves, took a good goal and obviously hit the bar, but didn't create too much else that would worry Gordon.  The only thing of note we did in the second half was that low ball in that he took well.  I was a bit surprised at how sloppy Hearts' were at the back, especially in the first half there were a number of passes that went straight to Airdrie players or to big gaps in the middle of nowhere, but the difference was that Hearts could punish our mistakes and we couldn't punish theirs.  Championship teams won't generally punish those - hence our pretty good defensive record of late - but a team with quality like Shankland's obviously will.

Obviously a disappointment to lose a game, especially when you're on good form, but there are positives to take from it, and it'll be a good learning experience for our players, especially the younger ones.  If we as a club or they as individuals want to play at a higher level, that's the kind of play you need to be able to handle. 

It was good to have a big crowd in, and to see players of the quality of Shankland and Gordon - and Lembikisa, whom I'd not seen before but was excellent for them down the right - at New Broomfield.  You want to see the best, you want your players to get experience playing the best, you want big games and decent gate money more often and that's what we earned by beating St Johnstone. 

All the best to Hearts for the rest of the competition.

[DG_HMFC]

1 hour ago, A Diamond For Me said:

No complaints about that, I think 1-4 was a pretty fair score.  We'd have got beaten anyway if we tried to park the bus, so I'd rather see them have a go and create some chances, and our passing game was pretty good overall.  Hearts were just a much better team, the speed they played at was something we couldn't really handle and the pass to set up the move for their first goal superb.  The gap between them and St Johnstone is pretty vast on the evidence of the Cup games (and, obviously, the league table).

I thought we gave a decent account of ourselves, took a good goal and obviously hit the bar, but didn't create too much else that would worry Gordon.  The only thing of note we did in the second half was that low ball in that he took well.  I was a bit surprised at how sloppy Hearts' were at the back, especially in the first half there were a number of passes that went straight to Airdrie players or to big gaps in the middle of nowhere, but the difference was that Hearts could punish our mistakes and we couldn't punish theirs.  Championship teams won't generally punish those - hence our pretty good defensive record of late - but a team with quality like Shankland's obviously will.

Obviously a disappointment to lose a game, especially when you're on good form, but there are positives to take from it, and it'll be a good learning experience for our players, especially the younger ones.  If we as a club or they as individuals want to play at a higher level, that's the kind of play you need to be able to handle. 

It was good to have a big crowd in, and to see players of the quality of Shankland and Gordon - and Lembikisa, whom I'd not seen before but was excellent for them down the right - at New Broomfield.  You want to see the best, you want your players to get experience playing the best, you want big games and decent gate money more often and that's what we earned by beating St Johnstone. 

All the best to Hearts for the rest of the competition.

Excellent post.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

19 hours ago, A Diamond For Me said:

No complaints about that, I think 1-4 was a pretty fair score.  We'd have got beaten anyway if we tried to park the bus, so I'd rather see them have a go and create some chances, and our passing game was pretty good overall.  Hearts were just a much better team, the speed they played at was something we couldn't really handle and the pass to set up the move for their first goal superb.  The gap between them and St Johnstone is pretty vast on the evidence of the Cup games (and, obviously, the league table).

I thought we gave a decent account of ourselves, took a good goal and obviously hit the bar, but didn't create too much else that would worry Gordon.  The only thing of note we did in the second half was that low ball in that he took well.  I was a bit surprised at how sloppy Hearts' were at the back, especially in the first half there were a number of passes that went straight to Airdrie players or to big gaps in the middle of nowhere, but the difference was that Hearts could punish our mistakes and we couldn't punish theirs.  Championship teams won't generally punish those - hence our pretty good defensive record of late - but a team with quality like Shankland's obviously will.

Obviously a disappointment to lose a game, especially when you're on good form, but there are positives to take from it, and it'll be a good learning experience for our players, especially the younger ones.  If we as a club or they as individuals want to play at a higher level, that's the kind of play you need to be able to handle. 

It was good to have a big crowd in, and to see players of the quality of Shankland and Gordon - and Lembikisa, whom I'd not seen before but was excellent for them down the right - at New Broomfield.  You want to see the best, you want your players to get experience playing the best, you want big games and decent gate money more often and that's what we earned by beating St Johnstone. 

All the best to Hearts for the rest of the competition.

That's roughly how I felt after we played Fiorentina

[Crùbag]

On 10/02/2024 at 16:54, A Diamond For Me said:

I hope Hearts do play Craig Gordon.  Any way you slice it he's been one of the best Scottish footballers of the century so far, especially when you consider his professionalism and determination to come back from dreadful injuries and keep playing well at a high level for so long.  You want to see your team competing with the best.  No disrespect to Zander Clark, but I'd love players like Gallagher or Todorov to be able to say they scored past Craig Gordon.

Hearts are and should be massive favourites, but we're in good form and as an @Crùbag would no doubt agree, tha Cothrom na Fèinne ann an còmhnaidh.  They'll clearly be the best team we've played for a couple of seasons, led by a striker who is battering down the doors of the national team's Euro squad, so realistically we're looking at decent payday and hoping for a good performance.  The thing about the Cup, though, is that you never know... It's a free hit, and sometimes a free hit goes for six.

Gu dearbh!