How Hearts players fared against EFL side Crawley Town in Spain as Lawrence Shankland returns

Lawrence Shankland returned to action as Hearts ended their week-long Spanish training camp with a 3-1 win against Crawley Town on Friday evening. The Tynecastle side were the better side against their English League Two opponents and earned their rewards for a confident display. Shankland appeared as a second-half substitute after agreeing a new three-year contract earlier this week.

Employing a very evident high press and intensity under head coach Derek McInnes' instructions, Hearts utilised their squad to good effect in sweltering heat. This was the final act of their pre-season trip following Wednesday's 1-1 draw with St Mirren at the same resort. Temperatures were once again in the mid-30s at kick-off. A small collection of fans from both teams [pictured below] stood outside the perimeter fencing to watch this closed-door friendly and the Scottish contingent among them would have left happy.

Crawley lined up with the former Hibs winger Harry McKirdy in their team but he and his team-mates were facing a deficit inside four minutes. Hearts' aggressive press forced an error from the Town goalkeeper Harvey Davies, whose kick-out was intercepted and fell to Elton Kabangu. His first shot was saved by Davies' legs, but Alexandros Kyziridis collected and fed the Belgian again for a shot from an acute angle which landed in the net via a deflection.

Kyziridis collided with McKirdy and briefly left the field for treatment before going on a driving run to force another stop from Davies. The goalkeeper was once again called upon after 15 minutes to produce an instinctive low save when Elton Kabangu headed Kyziridis' free-kick goalwards. There was no lack of aggression despite the friendly billing and some meaty challenges led to yellow cards.

Hearts moved 2-0 ahead on 18 minutes, and again it came from harassing their opponents high up the pitch. This time it was left-back Harry Milne who started it and, when the Edinburgh side won a corner, Kyziridis delivered it onto Michael Steinwender's head. The ball was cleared off the goal line but Alan Forrest met it near the edge of the penalty area for a convincing driven finish through a posse of bodies and into the net.

Crawley quickly halved the deficit when Reece Brown's scooped ball in behind the Hearts defence was knocked beneat the Hearts keeper Ryan Fulton by Louis Flower. Fulton then comfortably held a free-kick from Brown as the interval approached. Leading 2-1 at the interval, McInnes would have been pleased with many aspects of the opening 45 minutes.

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Steinwender and Craig Halkett looked comfortable in central defence, Oisin McEntee's presence and Beni Baningime's composure produced a good mix in central midfield, while Kyziridis was a constant threat wide on the left. Claudio Braga also showed some sharp movement and touches to create openings for others.

McInnes changed his team for the second half and, although the tempo of play remainded high in the Spanish sunshine, the second period was slightly more cagey with fewer scoring opportunities for both teams.

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James Wilson and Musa Drammeh were the Hearts forwards and both tried to use their pace to sprint in behind Crawley, who made several substitutions during the interval. The partnership combined perfectly on 69 minutes to produce a third goal for the men in maroon. Right-back Christian Borchgrevink fed Drammeh and he scampered off in the inside-right channel to slide a perfect low ball across the face of goal. Wilson knocked it home at the back post.

On the touchline, McInnes' voice was a constant as he barked instructions and demanded more during play. It is clear Hearts players will be pushed to the limit this season and anything less than 100 per cent will not be tolerated. Shankland entered the fray on 70 minutes and joined Wilson up front, with Drammeh moving wide right and Kartum sacrificed.

Shankland looked to be in reasonable condition despite missing almost two weeks of pre-season training. A couple of clever flicks, some dropping deep and a some pressing up top were the sum of his outing. The fact he is back with the squad is a significant boost to all concerned at Hearts ahead of next Saturday's opening Premier Sports Cup game against Dunfermline.

Hearts first half (4-4-2): Fulton; Forrester, Steinwender, Halkett, Milne; Forrest, McEntee, Baningime, Kyziridis; Braga, Kabangu.

Hearts second half (4-4-2): Clark; Borchgrevink, Kent, Findlay, Kingsley; Kartum (Shankland 70), Devlin, Nieuwenhof (Denholm 82), Spittal; Drammeh, Wilson.

Crawley Town (4-4-2): Davies; Radcliffe, Trialist, Barker (Flint 46), Trialist; McKirdy (Pereira 46), Brown (Roles 46), Anderson, Cashman (Papadopoulos 46); Flower (Tshimanga 46), Adeyemo (Forster 46).