Home comforts fire up Hearts
ALL LAST NIGHT’S ACTION —
INSPIRED by the latest of the Tynecastle tyros, Hearts have another home win to savour. For 16-year-old Anthony McDonald, this was literally the stuff of schoolboy dreams.
An impressive debut by the Scotland youth international was crowned by a moment that more than justified his selection. An incisive, cultured through ball released Esmael Goncalves for the game’s opening goal as Craig Levein’s side followed up Saturday’s success over Motherwell.
There was plenty more to admire in McDonald’s performance. And, indeed, in the mindset that put him to work.
For all the problems encountered this season, Levein has remained steadfast in his determination to promote from within the Hearts academy.
McDonald was merely the latest to join the apprenticeship scheme, with fellow teenagers Harry Cochrane and Lewis Moore also involved against a Dundee team branded a ‘joke’ by furious manager Neil McCann afterwards.
Willing to graft as well and bright in his movement on the right flank, McDonald (right) completed his evening with an input to the clinching strike hammered home by captain Christophe Berra.
Hearts rise above Motherwell into fifth. Defeat for Dundee means they have only Partick Thistle below them at the bottom.
‘It wasn’t a big decision to put Anthony in if you watch him in training every day,’ said Levein. ‘With Jamie Walker out, we don’t have another senior player like him. ‘Anthony has been a stand-out in his age group, like Harry and one or two more ‘I believe in them. And the firstteam players believe in them, too, because they have been training with them since the summer. ‘They will give Anthony and Harry the ball in tight spaces and expect them to deal with it. They have surprised me a little bit that they are playing at this age but I always expected them to become first-team players.’ The emotions expressed by counterpart McCann could hardly have been more different as he laid into his players. ‘We had a wee spell in the second half, but it didn’t cheer me up because that was a shocking performance, absolutely shocking,’ he fumed. ‘I didn’t see it coming and it won’t be accepted.
‘Everything we do in training has a purpose and an end point about setting standards. But that was a joke.’
It was no surprise Goncalves should be the man to open the scoring with half an hour gone. He was the only player in the Hearts starting line-up to have previously struck in the Premiership this season.
Goal No 6 arrived when he showed fine upper-body strength to brush off Kerr Waddell’s attentions before clipping an angled shot beyond Elliott Parish.
The fact it was created by McDonald’s fine pass made it all the more appreciated by the home fans.
In response, McCann’s men had started confidently enough but struggled to make any real inroads through their smooth passing. Their best chance of the opening period arrived not long before its end. A mis-hit shot from Roarie Deacon landed at Sofien Moussa’s feet, but he was unable to sort them out before Jon McLaughlin got out to smother.
Dundee centre-back Jack Hendry — a target for Celtic — had earlier been hurt when knocked over by Cole Stockton in an aerial challenge. He failed to reappear for the second half, with Cammy Kerr introduced.
McCann nearly got the rapid response he had been seeking. Engineering space to sneak in a low shot, Deacon watched it roll fractionally wide of target.
Back they came, with Paul McGowan sending a terrific cross into the corridor of uncertainty in front of McLaughlin. Moussa would surely have converted but for John Souttar’s superbly-timed sliding challenge.
Hearts were being over-run in midfield. Levein’s answer was to beef up that area by sending on Ross Callachan for goalscorer Goncalves.
The newcomer should have swiftly settled any nerves. He almost had too much time to think after being sent clean through by Stockton and could only rattle a shot against Parish.
That was rendered irrelevant with 13 minutes remaining. McDonald’s corner cannoned off Kerr and fell for Berra to lash beyond the keeper.