Hearts continued their pre-season preparations in a 1-5 friendly defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Tynecastle Park this evening.
Lawrence Shankland pulled the Jambos back on level terms early in the first half following Brennan Johnson’s first half opener.
But a rejuvenated Spurs side soon gained control of the second half in a four-goal blitz to hand victory to the Premier League giants.
There were a handful of changes from the weekend’s friendly meeting with Leyton Orient, with Yan Dhanda in from the start as new signing Gerald Taylor was handed his maiden start in maroon.
The first half was a fairly even contest as both sides crafted chances: Daniel Oyegoke diverted a ranged effort from Heung-min Son before Kyosuke Tagawa sent an effort agonisingly wide from an impressive Taylor cross.
Craig Gordon came up with goods after 25 minutes, keeping Spurs at bay with a trademark reaction save to deny Son after some tidy build up play from Ange Postecoglou’s side.
That luck wasn’t to hold and the Jambos soon found themselves behind after 38 minutes when James Maddison squared the ball to an incoming Brennan Johnson who simply had to curl the ball home to secure the lead.
HT: HEARTS 0-1 SPURS
Lawrence Shankland was introduced to the game after the break and the returning number nine’s impact was immediate as he pounced on a Dhanda ball to fire home into the bottom corner.
Will Lankshear soon restored the Londoners’ lead, sliding home a cute finish after being sent 1-v-1 with Zander Clark – the third coming ten minutes later as the impressive Mikey Moore finished.
German international Timo Werner crossed for an advancing Spence to slot home after 71 minutes, before Phillips wrapped up the scoring on 84 minutes with a good rebound finish after an impressive initial save from Zander Clark.
Hearts: Gordon © (Clark 45’), Kent, Oyegoke (Neilson 69’), Grant (Spittal 62’), Oda (McKay 45’), Devlin (Tait 62’), Rowles (Dall 69’), Forrest (Musa 62’), Dhanda (Wilson 62’), Tagawa (Shankland 45’), Taylor (Denholm 62’)
Subs: Fulton, Clark, Halkett, Shankland, McKay, Spittal, Denholm, Neilson, Tait, Dall, Sandilands, Drammeh, Gillies, Wilson
