The Wee Jambos rounded off their pre-season with a 2-0 victory against Broxburn Athletic at Albyn Park on Tuesday night.
It was a lively start to this one and it was the home side who were first to go close when a corner from the right was headed wide at the front post.
Up the other end, Hearts fashioned a chance of their own before the game was even two minutes old. Bobby McLuckie will be looking to continue his good form this season after an impressive campaign last term, he made ground down the left and found Makenzie Kirk, but his shot was well saved by the feet of Robert Watt in the Broxburn goal.
Liam McFarlane was called into action for the first time on the half hour mark when beating Calum Heath’s effort from distance to safety.
The Wee Jambos got the opener five minutes from the interval. After good play down the right, the ball was fired into Bailey Dall, who took a good touch to get the ball out of his feet before rifling the ball low past Watt.
Into the second half and Hearts notably upped the intensity in the early exchanges and after Gus Stevenson and Ryan Duncan had shots saved, Makenzie Kirk was given a golden opportunity to double the lead six minutes into the second half.
After being brought down in the box, Hearts were awarded a penalty and it was Kirk who dusted himself down and sent Watt the wrong way to double the advantage.
The Wee Jambos were in full control by this point as the home side tired and although Stevenson and Mackenzie Ross went close, the scoreline stayed the same as the substitutions flowed in the closing stages.
Speaking to the Official Hearts Website at full-time, manager Liam Fox said:
“I’m delighted with that. I think the most pleasing aspect tonight is another clean sheet.
We had two 15-year olds on the pitch tonight and I think everybody that came on the pitch tonight impacted the game in a positive way and that’s what you want.
“The good thing for me is that it shows that they have been listening in training and doing the things that we’ve been asking them to do.
“That is the culture that we want. We need the young players to push everybody higher up the chain.
“The boys have worked hard all summer, they’ve conditioned and worked hard in pre-season, so we’ll get back to work now and we’ll be ready to go for Friday.”
Hearts: McFarlane (Trialist), Kirk © (Plesiewicz 56), Dall (Trialist 80), Duncan (Anderson, 80), Smutek, Friel (Burn, 67), McLuckie (Hogarth, 62) Ross (Crookston, 80), Chisholm, Stevenson (Muirhead, 67), Nair
Subs: Trialist, Gillies, Walker, Muirhead, Anderson, Plesiewicz, Crookston, Burn, Trialist, Hogarth
