Hearts missing a beat with key players out
SPFL Premiership first loss is notable
Defeat was inevitable at some stage. Even the most ardent Hearts supporter didn’t expect their team to remain unbeaten throughout the entire Premiership campaign. Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Pittodrie carried no shame, although it did expose some vulnerability in key positions. For all the secret data expertise of Jamestown Analytics and the 30-man squad assembled at Riccarton, three mainstays from the old guard were sorely missed.
Craig Halkett’s suspension denied Hearts the services of their best defender so far this season. His aggression, strength, aerial ability, leadership and reading of the game are difficult to replace. Not that Frankie Kent or Michael Steinwender did anything wrong. It’s simply that Halkett is a mainstay at centre-back and someone who helped underpin the 12-game unbeaten sequence prior to Sunday’s game. His presence was always likely to be missed to some degree.
In midfield, another notable absentee is Beni Baningime. He is out for several weeks with a hamstring injury. While Tomas Magnusson - a classic Jamestown signing as a relative unknown from the Icelandic league - is adapting to Scottish football fairly well, he does not yet offer the authority of Baningime. Not many do, in fairness. The Congolese’s pairing with Cammy Devlin is the best central midfield partnership in the league. When Hearts needed composure, ball retention and control during a frenetic game against Aberdeen, the mind turned to Baningime and how he could dictate play were he out there.
Then there’s Lawrence Shankland. Losing the Premiership’s joint-top goalscorer to a calf injury over the weekend meant Hearts were without their captain and principal attacking threat. Shankland has managed 10 goals in 16 games for the Edinburgh club this term, plus one in Scotland’s historic World Cup qualifying win over Denmark last week. He returned to Riccarton high on adrenaline ahead of the trip to Pittodrie and must now await scan results to determine the extent of his injury.
Landry Kabore was the central striker in Shankland’s absence and looked desperate to impress against Aberdeen. His instinct to scamper in behind opponents is different to Shankland, whose intelligence and link-up play is married to a ruthless streak inside the penalty area. Burkina Faso internationalist Kabore is still adjusting to Hearts and Scottish football and tends to fare better with a striking partner beside him. At Pittodrie, he was flanked by Alexandros Kyziridis and Claudio Braga as Hearts changed formation from 4-4-2 to 3-4-3. The 4-4-2 seems to suit them better.
It shouldn’t be seen as a coincidence that their first league loss under Derek McInnes arrived when Halkett, Baningime and Shankland were all sidelined. Serious money has been invested at Tynecastle Park in recent months, but those three remain linchpins of the side. They also understand Scottish football after years of service. Replacing one or two would be unsettling enough. Losing all three would impact any team in the country and Hearts are no different. McInnes acknowledged as much after the match.
“A lot of what was on show today, they weren't quite on point, particularly our attacking players,” he said. “That's going to happen, we were always going to lose a game. We wanted to keep that defeat as far away from the door as possible. You know and I know that a defeat was always going to come and we thought we'd done enough today not to lose the game. I thought we were the better team, but if you don't show the quality that we clearly lacked today, then you're not going to win at Pittodrie. We've lost the spine of our team a wee bit with Halkett, Baningime and Lawrence.”
Brazilian midfielder Ageu is another name on the injured list after a recurrence of a hamstring problem, while defender Stuart Findlay felt his calf and was substituted in the second half at Pittodrie. These are problems Hearts could do without as they look to respond to that first league loss and regain momentum at the top of the Premiership.
The good news is Halkett’s suspension is now served and he will be available for Saturday’s trip to Motherwell. Baningime won’t. Shankland’s situation is unclear as he heads for a scan today, the results of which will be keenly awaited. This weekend perhaps proved that, for Hearts, established faces can be even more valuable than exciting new recruits. McInnes will certainly want all three reinstated as soon as possible.
READ MORE: Aberdeen 1-0 Hearts - report and ratings