Wouter Vrancken hails two Hearts stars after 'mature' Premier Sports Cup victory
Hampden date secured after win at Ochilview
Wouter Vrancken praised a mature Hearts display after the head coach watched his side coast past Stenhousemuir 3-0 in their Premier Sports Cup quarter-final.
First-half goals from JJ Williams and Rogers Mato in the first half made the eventual outcome of the tie an almost foregone conclusion. Yan Dhanda settled matters with a late second-half winner that moves Hearts into the semi-finals at Hampden on Hallowe’en weekend. The tie on a plastic surface at Ochilview threatened to be tricky for Hearts after Motherwell’s exit at the smae venue last month, but they controlled the game.
Vrancken was left pleased post-match after making six changes from the team that defeated Dundee with no impact on performance. The Belgian said: “Really mature, I would say. And this is the thing we want to see.
Wouter Vrancken on Stenhousemuir 0-3 Hearts
“Don't take it easy, because you saw also the win they had here against Motherwell, so we also knew that it could be a difficult game. It was depending on us if we made it easier or not. We did the little things that we wanted to see, so we were there, focused, on the duels, loose balls. On the ball we had quality but we didn't want to force it.
“Also with some players who want to have minutes and get their chance now, and also these players just played like the team wanted to play them, and not forcing it themselves. So all those things, happy to see it, that we can play a game like that.”
Goalscorers Williams and Mato came into a rotated forward line ahead of regulars like Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller. The pace of Mato was used to great effect, while Williams grabbed both a goal and assist for Dhanda’s effort.
Who impressed Wouter Vrancken in Hearts win over Stenhousemuir?
Vrancken continued: “JJ played a good game. Everybody played a good game, also him. I'm happy for him that he could show himself from the start because that takes some time. And of course, when you're in a domestic game, all those games, it's not so easy to get these minutes and to show yourself. You saw he was eager to do it and to press and to show the energy in it. But at the same time, not only on the ball, but also out of possession, he was important, and his presence in the box was also good. So yeah, happy to see that he fits in very well.
“Rogers is really, really fast! I'm also happy to see that he has his moment, he scored his goal, because Rogers is just a really good guy. He wants to do good. From the beginning, he's really coachable, he wants to get the feedback, he wants to know in situations what to have to do when he doubts. He's also a guy who overthinks then, who's always thinking in the game, should I do this, should I do that, they ask me this.
”This overthinking he has to get rid of, and this is coming by time, and you see him progressing there, and I'm happy to see that he feels good, and that he took his moments. Not only in possession, also out of possession. In the second half they started targeting long balls to his zone, his area, but he’s also there in the duels, in the aerial duels, he won those moments. I’m really happy for him, because the more players we can count on, the better.”
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