Hearts back in action tonight as fans get the chance to watch Berwick friendly
HEARTS
Hearts will come out of cold storage tonight to play their first match in 56 days when they face Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park.
Robbie Neilson will take a mixture of senior players and youngsters to the Border town to take on the Lowland League outfit (kick-off 7pm). Less than 24 hours later, Hearts will play East of Scotland Premier League club Linlithgow Rose (tomorrow, 3pm).
Hearts have been inactive since completing their Championship campaign with a 4-0 win over Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park on April 30. Since then, only Liam Boyce and Craig Gordon have had game time while on international duty with Northern Ireland and Scotland respectively.
After winning promotion back to the Scottish Premiership , Hearts want to hit the ground running when the league action begins on July 31 against Celtic. Before that, they will face Peterhead, Cove Rangers, Stirling Albion and Inverness in their Premier Sport Cup group.
Neilson is expected to use his full squad for this weekend’s two matches, with only goalkeeper Gordon likely to be rested given that he was involved in Scotland’s Euro 2020 campaign.
Hearts have only made two signings since the 2020-21 term came to an end. Goalkeeper Ross Stewart and forward Josh Ginnelly – who were on loan last season – have penned permanent deals from
Livingston and Preston North End respectively. In particular, Ginnelly will relish being back on the pitch after so much of his first year in Gorgie was blighted by injury.
Up to 500 supporters will be present at both matches, with Berwick and Linlithgow selling tickets via the Fanbase website. It will be the first time that Hearts play in front of a crowd since March 2020.
Linlithgow have already begun their pre-season, losing 1-0 to Pollok, and Rose manager Brown Ferguson is excited by the prospect of Hearts coming to town. "It’s a great test for us,” said Ferguson. “I would expect Hearts will try to retain the ball a little bit more than Pollok. It’s an exciting game. I hope the players take lessons from the Pollok game as we move forward.”