Six of the best: International contingent underlines incredible progress at Hearts Women

When the Scotland under-19s travel down to Wales for a pair of international friendlies next week, the biggest contingent among Pauline Hamill’s squad won’t be from Rangers, Hibs or even development-factory Spartans. They’ll come from Eva Olid’s ever-improving Heart of Midlothian side.

Six players from the Jam Tarts have been included in 20-strong squad: Aimee Anderson, Amelie Birse, Tegan Browning, Shona Cowan, Eilidh Davies and Celtic loanee Maria McAneny. Hearts have one of the youngsest squads in the SWPL 1 this campaign and these prodigies are all regulars in the first-team.

"There's so many players my age who hardly get any minutes, whereas Eva picks me in some capacity almost every game,” said Birse, the 17-year-old from Boroughmuir High School who is the club’s top goalscorer so far this campaign. “It's a massive credit to Hearts and tells you everything you need to know about what they're doing here with the young players and giving them opportunities.

"We're doing so well at developing young players. There's so many of us going to Wales who are at the club, which is amazing. It's a big step up to go with Scotland, but Eva's brought the standard up at Hearts so much so it's not like it's a polar opposite. It's a massive credit to Hearts that they apply the same standard as Scotland do.”

Claire Delworth, left, is hugged by Maria McAneny and Aimee Anderson while Amelie Birse joins in the celebrations. The latter three have all been selected for the next Scotland under-19s squad. Picture: Chris Doyle

Hearts toiled through the 2020/21 campaign following their promotion to the SWPL 1, finishing bottom of the table. It wasn’t much of a surprise. Hearts had invested in getting the women’s team into the top flight but a lot of that funding was then slashed when the Covid-19 pandemic meant the Tynecastle side had to cut their cloth. Previous boss Kevin Murphy left, as did a lot of senior players, while first-team coach Andy Kirk was moved into taking over a team largely made up of teenagers. They still make up a bulk of the squad this campaign but they’re a year older and wiser. They took their lumps last season and had no choice to continually pick themselves up and keep going.

"For me it was a massive step up into the SWPL 1 because I'd only spent two or three months at under-19s,” said Birse. “I hadn't had any first-team experience. And because of some of the older players leaving a lot of the younger ones had to step up and play a massive part in the squad.

"I made my first start against [the now defunct] Forfar Farmington having only been with the squad a couple of weeks. I don't think I was ready. But being thrown into that environment – there was a lot of pressure on us last season – helped all of the young players who'd developed because we had to perform. There wasn't really any other option. That definitely gave me the building blocks to improve, having to perform in that stressful environment; being thrown into games where I was definitely out of my depth but having to find my feet quickly.”

Hearts are not only surviving this campaign, they’re thriving. The 1-0 victory over Motherwell last time out pushed them into seventh place in the table, eight points above Hamilton in tenth and the only relegation spot. They now sit only five points behind Sunday’s defeated opponents, while they’ll take on SWPL 2 leaders Dundee United this weekend for a place in the last eight of the Scottish Cup.

Amelie Birse recently made her 40th appearance for Hearts. The 17-year-old is the club's top goalscorer this term. Picture: David Mollison

Extra training sessions, to take part-time Hearts in line with the division’s full-time clubs, have been hugely beneficial, while the arrival of Olid has also had a significant impact as the Spaniard continues to mould the team in her own image.

Birse certainly sees the benefits in herself. She’s struck seven goals in 20 appearances (12 starts) to top the goal tally and made her 40th appearance for the club in the match against Motherwell.

“The style of play is the biggest improvement. Last season we lacked identity as a team. As much as we tried to have an identity, I don't think it always came across and it got lost some weeks as we would adapt to our opponents. Whereas this season, while it's not the main goal, we want to always try and keep our identity, making teams change their style of play to compete against us,” said Birse.

"We want to remain consistent in terms of possession, how we keep the ball and creating chances for ourselves, not panic under pressure and kick it long. Obviously we're a young team with inexperienced players, but remaining confident on the pitch and keeping to our style is what Eva has tried to instill in us. That's what every training session is about, Eva's philosophy and how we can use it on a game day.

Amelie Birse celebrates with her team-mates during the 3-2 win at Aberdeen, where she netted twice. Picture: Stephen Dobson

"I remember at the end of the first week after we had all the extra sessions introduced and everybody was just knackered. Everyone was exhausted, especially those who do the morning session as well with the hub. By the time it got to Thursday we were all on the floor. But now, Eilidh [Begg] and I were talking earlier about adding another session.

“I'd like to think I'm making more mature decisions, in terms of knowing when to go long and go short, also when to take a foul and be more mature in my game. There's a lot of experienced strikers in this league but a lot of the time Hearts will play with Aimee [Anderson] and I up top and we're only 17 and 18. So we're trying to play with a level head on young shoulders. I'd like to think I've gained experience from those 40 games which I can now use in the important fixtures like those against teams around us in the table.”

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