Hearts explain Frankie Kent's head knock and Liam Boyce's absence against Spurs
The Edinburgh club suffered a 5-1 loss in Wednesday’s pre-season friendly
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith explained Frankie Kent’s head knock and Liam Boyce’s absence following the pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur at Tynecastle Park. The Londoners finished comfortable 5-1 winners but Naismith’s side could derive some satisfaction from an encouraging first-half display when they arguably created the better scoring chances.
Kent was substituted on 33 minutes after being struck in the face by a free-kick from the Spurs midfielder James Maddison. After a period on treatment inside the Hearts penalty area, the giant centre-back was substituted as Craig Halkett took his place. Kent looked less than pleased at the decision as he made his way up the tunnel.
Naismith revealed that Hearts were being extra cautious because of the nature of the game and the fact that the competitive 2024/25 season starts in less than three weeks. “Frankie took a blow to the face and I’ve not checked how he is. It’s a friendly, the precaution is to take him off,” stated the head coach.
Boyce was not involved in Hearts’ matchday squad for the game having been ill since the squad returned from their pre-season training camp in Tenerife last Thursday. He was in the stand watching but was not able to take part. “He has been ill. I didn’t even expect to see him tonight,” said Naismith. “He is feeling better but for the last two days he has been in his bed.”
Naismith was pleased with a number of aspects of Hearts’ display against English Premier League opposition. “I thought it was a really good night,” he said. “The game comes probably a bit earlier than we ideally want in pre-season. Last year we had Leeds as our last game which was a brilliant test. This would have been a similar fixture. The way it landed with the commitments and the back story of the game, it comes earlier.
“I thought there were loads of positives, especially in the first half. When you go toe-to-toe with a team like Spurs you are going to get picked off and that's what you see at the end of the game. At the start, we create as many good chances as they have, we should have scored. We were patient and tried to use this more as what could be an opportunity to play against a team in Europe, so I thought from that aspect it was good.
“We carried a threat, we had pace, we made good decisions. The game gets a bit stretched towards the end when we are bringing on some young guys who are just making their way in the game. The young players they are bringing on have been bought for £10m, sp the gap widens. I actually thought a lot of the goals we conceded tonight were one mistake in the chain but it gets punished because of the quality of player, that is evidently what happened. It was a really good test and one we can take positives from.”
New loan signing from Deportivo Saprissa, Gerald Taylor, was the standout Hearts player in what was his first appearance in maroon. “Yeah, there were lots of his attributes on show tonight,” said Naismith. “He's powerful, he's quick, his reading of the game, happy to defend one-v-one. We've watched him a lot. It's harder bringing players from other leagues knowing how they are going to fit into Scottish football.
“He's won trophies, he's played at a club with demand, he's played international football, he's played at major tournaments internationally so it minimises the risk and I said when he signed he was going to be an exciting player and we saw glimpses of that tonight.”
Lawrence Shankland scored Hearts’ goal to level the game at 1-1 just 40 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute. He only returned to first-team training on Monday after international duty alongside goalkeeper Zander Clark. Winger Kenneth Vargas is now back in the country after the Copa America with Costa Rica.
“For Shanks, Zander, Kenneth and even Gerald the time off was rest. That’s what they needed,” said Naismith. “They’re not going to lose their fitness. They’ve only been in a few days. The natural finisher in Shanks is what does it for the goal. What probably goes unnoticed is Yan Dhanda’s pass. It looks simple but loads of players take a touch there and the opportunity is gone.
“Yan has the quickness of mind to see the pass, execute it perfectly and that’s how we get our goal. It comes from a high press and being brave. These are the good things we will take from the game.”
Asked about Jorge Grant occupying a deeper midfield role, Naismith replied: “He can play that role. Ideally he is more comfortable higher up but with the boys out at the moment we have had to shuffle a few. He has shown up in the games and in training that he’s intelligent enough to pick up positions in that role and do the defensive side. He has come back in good shape.”