Heart of Midlothian B thumped Berwick Rangers 6-1 at Ainslie Park on Friday night in the Lowland League.

Liam Fox's side took a 1-0 lead into the interval thanks to Mack Ross' finish after some neat work down the left. Hearts were clinical after the break with Bobby Mcluckie netting a hat-trick, Ryan Duncan finding the back of the net and substitute Owen Muirhead completing the scoring.

The result leaves the team top of the Lowland League, for the time being at least.

Joel Sked looks back at a fruitful night for the Wee Jambos.

Bouncing back

Hearts tasted defeat for the first time this season in the Lowland League last week, going down 1-0 at home to Tranent. Seven days later, the reaction couldn't have been better. Berwick Rangers were one of three unbeaten sides in the league coming into the match, conceding just four goals in their four games. They were no match for a very confident, assured, quick and, in the end, dominant display. It was rare for Fox's side not to score last week. Watching the ruthless nature of the second-half it was almost as if the team had a point to prove or were simply making up for drawing a blank. In the first half they played well but had moments where Berwick threatened in behind or had spells where they probed. But the defence, led by Kai Smutek stood up to the experience of Liam Buchanan. While the aim for the team is about development rather than winning the league, there is no doubt they will once again be challenging at the top.

Nightmare to play against

In the 75th minute, Hearts took a 5-1 lead. The Berwick Rangers Twitter account posted: "They've scored the same goal now three times. Ball out wide, cut back and Mcluckie get his third." What they described was Hearts B in a nutshell at their best. At any moment the team can cut through the opposition with ease. Pace, movement, directness and incision. Fox, speaking to HeartsTV after, talked of Tranent sitting in last week. It's a shrewd tactic as it limits the space in behind or between centre-back and full-back. That's where Hearts destroy you, especially when you have players like Macaulay Tait and Callum Sandilands capable of playing through balls for Finlay Pollock and Mcluckie to run onto. A key aspect of the team's play is that when the ball goes wide they have players crashing the box to convert low passes or crosses. Mcluckie is normally a player who is getting the ball wide, skipping past players or running onto passes to square for a team mate, like he did with the opening goal, setting up Mack Ross. But in the second half, he was getting in those goal-scoring positions to be set up.

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Pollock's devastation

Two of the second-half goals were set up by Finlay Pollock. It seems that in every analysis of the B team, he is pinpointed. But there is a good reason for that. He is devastating. Opponents simply struggle to handle him. Pace, power, skill. It doesn't matter if it is two yards or 20 yards, there is a good chance he is using his pace and acceleration to leave the full-back in his wake. At times his end ball may be erratic but one of the most positive aspects of the way he plays is he gets back on the ball, back into dangerous positions, again and again, and he delivers. The 20-year-old is earning valuable minutes in the Lowland League after injury issues in recent years. Continue the way he is going, Yutaro Oda, Alan Forrest and others will be looking over their shoulder.

Left-back Lister

Hearts B made a few interesting additions in the summer, namely Jamie MacDonald. Dom Plank has caught the attention with some eye-catching contributions off the bench. But it was another solid, understated performance from Henry Lister. The left-back is the definition of neat and tidy. Everything he does is clean, both his touch and passing are crisp. He is an intelligent player, aided by composure and good awareness at both ends of the pitch. In an attacking sense he played a key role in the opening goal. Compared to others, he may not be as physical or as powerful or have the same presence but in terms of his brain and technique he ticks a lot of boxes.