Nurnberg drubbing was a good lesson, says Daly
HEARTS coach Jon Daly insists that yesterday’s 5-0 humbling at the hands of German second-tier side Nurnberg in Spain was a learning experience for the experimental team.
With a glut of first-team players continuing their rehabilitation from injury back in Edinburgh, manager Craig Levein gave a run-out to a total of 12 teenagers among his 22 squad members used across the 90 minutes in the Oliva Nova resort.
After drawing 1-1 with Dutch outfit Vitesse Arnhem 24 hours earlier, Levein again elected for a mix of youth and experience.
However, there was a distinct gulf in class against a side who are currently in the running for the Bundesliga 2 title, particularly in an opening half that saw Nurnberg score four goals.
Daly believes the game will prove valuable to the long-term development of the young players and heaped praise on midfielder Andy Irving, who netted against Arnhem. Daly said: ‘We used loads of kids and it’s great experience for them. ‘The result is disappointing but we have to look at who we were playing against and the line-up we had. ‘The trip is about getting boys back up to speed and give people game time, plus bring the young boys on due to injuries. ‘We wanted to see the loan players and Andy Irving has stood out in the two games. The trip as a whole has been successful aside from this result.’ Left-back Demetri Mitchell (left) also played just over an hour after linking up with his new teammates on Friday following a loan move from Manchester United. Daly added: ‘We wanted to let Demetri get used to playing with his new team-mates. ‘He gives us an attacking threat from left-back.’