Beni Baningime: Hearts got themselves 'great player' in Ellis Simms

Beni Baningime insists Hearts have got themselves a “great player" after watching Ellis Simms make his debut in maroon during Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to Celtic.

Ellis Simms battles with Celtic's Carl Starfelt for possession during his Hearts debut at Tynecastle Park on Wednesday evening. Picture: SNS

The pair, who were team-mates at Everton, were second-half substitutes during the narrow defeat as the hosts almost fought back from a 2-0 deficit with Liam Boyce missing a penalty after reducing the arrears from open play.

Both Simms and Baningime made a big impact, turning the flow of the game back in Hearts’ favour as Robbie Neilson’s men pressed valiantly for an equaliser.

The 21-year-old unsettled Celtic centre-back pairing Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt, allowing the home side to make the ball stick in attack and squeeze the game.

Even though Simms completed his loan move on the day of the game and has only made one competitive first-team appearance so far this season, Baningime wasn’t surprised to see his old Toffees club-mate hit the ground running and promises much more to come from the England youth international.

“Hearts have got a great player,” said the midfielder. “I was speaking to him before he signed. I was telling him about the games, the fans, the league and just how passionate everyone is. He said he really wanted to join.

“I done a little bit of agent work, but the gaffer convinced him on that, the club itself, how we’re doing right now, I think that convinced him.

“Today, I thought he was brilliant, it’s good to see him and soon you’ll see him scoring hopefully.

"Straight away he was ready. I think it must be something about Everton. I’m really happy him, I knew he was going to get going, so now I’m just waiting on his first goal.

“We were training with the first team at Everton, and he looked really good. I think he’ll do well here and kick on to whatever he wants to do after that.

“His pace, he’s lightning. You can give him a bad ball and he’ll make it into a good ball. That’s an attribute that not many people have and when he gets into those position, he can put the ball away.”

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.