Two-goal hero Callum Sandilands admits he could sense a memorable comeback was coming as the Wee Jambos left it late to defeat Linlithgow Rose 4-3 at Prestonfield.
Rose found themselves two goals to the good at the interval and before James Wilson and Adam Forrester hauled the Jambos level. Laurie Devine restored the hosts advantage on 83 minutes, before Sandilands stepped forward to grab the headlines.
Firstly, the number ten pounced on a mistake from Adam Binnie in the Rose goal in the final minute of normal time, before bagging a dramatic winner in stoppage time to maintain the men in maroon’s perfect start to the campaign.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website at full-time, Sandilands said:
“The first half, we shot ourselves right in the foot. We didn’t get started at all. In the last 15 minutes of the first half, we started playing a bit more football and it saw us create more clearcut chances.
“We got in at half-time and we knew that we had to fire ourselves up a bit. The second half, we came out and straight away, we have a good start, and we get the penalty. Unfortunately, James misses, but we kept going. The boys could sense it at that point, we were all talking, and we had a good feeling that we were going to win the game.
“We obviously comeback to 2-2, then we have another setback. So, to comeback again, it showed a lot of what the boys are made of in this group. On Saturday, we played well and got a few goals ahead, so tonight was a totally different challenge and eventually we stood up to it and got the three points.
“We’ve been in that position before. There was no doubt that we needed to fire each other up, we had the staff firing us up as well, but realistically, it comes down to us on the park and everyone, including the boys that came off the bench, played a big part. We kept our philosophy; we were more physical, and we won more second balls.”
The games keep coming thick and fast with Tranent the visitors to Ainslie Park for more Friday night football.
“Tranent will give us a very similar challenge. Over the past couple of the seasons, they’ve been really tough games. In the home game last year, we started fast and got a couple of goals ahead. That was the difference, so on Friday, that’s what we’ll be looking to do again.
“We’ll need to be a lot more physical than we were tonight. That’s something we’ll need to stand up to, but it’s a game we’re looking forward to.”
