Jambos boosted by young pals’ act
HEARTS boss Robbie Neilson believes that ‘friends reunited’ has helped Tony Watt settle quickly with the boys in maroon.
The former Celtic striker popped up to score a dramatic last-minute winner at Firhill. It was his first goal for the club and one that delighted his manager.
Neilson said: “We were desperate for Tony to get a goal. You can see the quality he brings and that was the reason I kept him on.
“I thought about changing the shape in the last 10 or 15 minutes but a player of that calibre, you keep on the pitch to try and get you something.
“His hit for the goal was top drawer. He’s come in and taken to the group really well.
“We’ve got a really young group with a lot of young Scottish players, so when he came in he knew five or six of them. That made it an easy process for him to settle in.”
Watt’s goal was cruel on a Partick Thistle team that really deserved a draw.
Tomas Cerny punched a cross out and Abdul Osman’s clearance deflected off Hearts’ Perry Kitchen straight into the path of Watt.
The Thistle goalkeeper felt the striker’s shot took a slight deflection but will be disappointed to be beaten at his near post.
Speculation meanwhile persists that Callum Paterson will be moving on from Tynecastle. Although Wigan’s bid of £600,000 for the Scotland full-back is well short of Hearts’ valuation of over £1 million, Neilson can’t be sure of keeping him.
He said: “Until someone comes in and meets that valuation, the player will stay with us. If they do meet it, it’s up to us to try to get some cover. We’ve got Liam Smith and he’s ready to take over the mantle.
“I’ve spoken about trying to get a left-sided midfielder, so we’re working on that.”
Paterson showed his aerial power when he headed his side in front from a corner.
Hearts’ skipper Don Cowie, who played for Wigan, feels the 21-year-old will eventually move to England.
He said: “If it’s Callum’s last game for the club then it’s a great way to go out. We hope he will still be here at the end of this window. But it’s only a matter of time before he leaves because he’s destined for big things.”
The teams played out a remarkably open match at Firhill with numerous chances at either end. It was refreshing to watch a game where both managers stuck with two strikers for the entire 90 minutes.
There were shots blocked, chances spurned and some smart saves from the goalkeepers.
Thistle’s goal was a carbon copy of the Hearts’ opener, with Liam Lindsay heading home an Erskine corner.
Jags’ boss Alan Archibald tried not to be too downhearted by the defeat.
He said: “There are a lot of positives to take from our first three games.
“We’ve got a big month coming up now and we play a lot of teams around about us.
“The one thing we can learn is that we need to be clinical.
“The last two games against top sides have shown we need to start taking our chances.”