I watched Stenhousemuir vs Hearts at Ochilview - fantastic four make a case in throwback night of fireworks
Here are some of the talking points that have emerged from Hearts’ win at Stenhousemuir.
Hearts have a date set for Hampden park after overcoming Stenhousemuir in their latest Premier Sports Cup clash.
The Jambos trounced Championship side Inverness CT 6-2 to kick off their campaign and Friday night’s 3-0 quarter-final away win versus second tier leaders Stenhousemuir comfortably sealed progress to the last four stage. Ties are due to be played on Halloween weekend and head coach Wouter Vrancken will hope there are no scares in store as the Premiership team seek to obtain glory for the first time since season 1962/63’s glory.
We were at the game won by JJ Williams, Rogers Mato and Yan Dhanda goals. Here are three things we spotted from watching the match unfold from the far corner of Stenhousemuir’s Norway Stand at Ochilview.
Old school
It was in their respective homelands but a contingent of the Hearts team have all played in lower league settings before. Coming from games in Europe at Tynecastle and a derby at Easter Road versus Hibs to Stenhousemuir’s tight stadium, however, would no doubt be a shock to the system. Of course it would be no excuse, however, the home comforts enjoyed by the Warriors are undoubted. Teams in the lower leagues have not enjoyed travelling to FK5 with Hearts hero Gary Naysmith in charge and Hibs favourite Marvin Bartley has carried on his good work.
One seated stand for home fans, the away end fully standing for the travelling contingent, and few plug sockets to go between the entire press core with no useable WiFI, they don’t make many high-profile Scottish games like this anymore. It was a game picked for TV too as Premier Sports’ broadcast team were placed almost on one of the corner flags. Fireworks and flares were set off as teams emerged on an away day the travelling contingent from Gorgie won’t forget in a hurry.
Rotation game
Vrancken made six changes from the team that beat Dundee and it was perhaps a risk. Motherwell also rotated at Ochilview as they tumbled out after extra time against the Warriors on last 16 duty last month. In came Mato, Williams, Sabri Guendouz and Sabah Kerjota in a fully-changed attacking arsenal. Harry Milne came in at left-back in a change that was more enforced due to Oisin McEntee’s absence and Christian Borchgrevink subbed in for Jordi Altena on the other side.
Losing the prowess of Claudio Braga, James Wilson, Calvin Miller and Josh McPake could have had an impact but the stars who played make big cases. Mato’s pace proved difficult to deal with, Guendouz brought creative flare, and Williams proved he can be a physical outball with a clinical touch. Dhanda was the fourth star to send a quality reminder to Vrancken as he made just his second appearance of the season. Looking composed, and with a goal to boot, he could yet have a role to play amid midfield injuries.
League Cup potential
This competition has been one Hearts haven’t been able to get over the line in over 60 years. This year, however, presents perhaps one of their best chances to do so. An Old Firm derby between Rangers and Celtic automatically takes one of your biggest contenders out while Ross County and Hibs is a tie fraught with danger for the Jambos’ Edinburgh rivals. Neither Kilmarnock or Aberdeen have started the season great in the other tie and getting anyone but a team from Glasgow would see Hearts start their semi-final as favourites. Tynecastle chiefs will aim to be in this type of game often in seasons ahead but this season’s opportunity has opened up for them in some ways.