Heart of Midlothian B picked up a solid point as they travelled to the Excelsior Stadium on Friday night against Celtic B.

Angus Beith, who has been coaching the first team in the morning, took charge of the game with Liam Fox currently interim boss following Steven Naismith's exit.

It was a poor start for Hearts B as they went a goal down inside the opening 15. The Wee Jambos levelled as James Wilson converted from the penalty spot.

In the 85th minute, it seemed like the points were heading Celtic’s way as they also converted from 12 yards. However, the resilience of the squad was on full display as Mackenzie Ross hit back moments later to rescue a point for his side.

This result does leave the Jambos winless in six, but it was a strong performance and certainly something they can build on.

Poor start 

As the Wee Jambos travelled to a high-flying Celtic it would always would have been key for Angus Beith’s side to get off to a strong start. As the hosts took the lead in the 12th minute it certainly wouldn’t have been what they were after. It was a solid start for Hearts, looking good on the ball and creating a couple of half chances along the way. However, Celtic's first serious attempt on goal was enough to put them one goal to the good. 

Highs and lows for Wilson

James Wilson looked, as ever, very bright and sharp in Airdrie. It was clear that his pace would cause problems for the Celtic back line. However, the 16-year-old would have been disappointed not to come away from the first half with a couple of goals. Not long after Celtic's opener, the striker was presented with a golden opportunity as Kai Smutek’s header was left waiting for Wilson to tap home, but he just couldn’t get the connection. Wilson also saw himself one on one with the Celtic keeper on two occasions, however one thumped off of the crossbar and another forced a strong save. He didn’t have to wait much longer as a penalty only minutes into the second half gave a perfect opportunity for the striker to get his goal. Having already missed one this season, the teenager showed composure beyond his years as he sent the keeper the wrong way to get his side back level. Although not the most clinical of striker performances from Wilson his movement and speed were impressive to watch as the Celtic high line gave him plenty of opportunities to run in behind.

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Dealing without key players

As Liam Fox was appointed interim manager of the first team it would have been no surprise to see the inclusion of some B team players. Therefore, with Macaulay Tait and Adam Forrester training with the first team all week, it was no shock to see them missing from the team sheet. Gregor Burn started at right-back and Ryan Duncan took the captain's armband. Burn did seem to struggle at points with the first goal coming down his side and the opposing Celtic winger getting the better of him on a couple of occasions but for the most part, he held his own throughout the game. Tait's presence perhaps wasn't as missed as much as Forrester's as Hearts B didn’t see as much of the ball as they usually would, and when they did, they were very efficient at moving the ball quickly and hitting Celtic on the break.

Respecting Celtic

Hearts travelled to an unabated Celtic team in the Lowland League shorn of a number of key players from this season so it was no surprise to see Beith set up in a more cautious approach. It was clear from the start that the Hearts full-backs weren’t going to be as influential as they previously have been this season with both playing more on the cautious side. Additionally, Hearts seemed content to let Celtic have the ball when playing out from the back and in certain moments Hearts had no intention of putting the two Celtic centre-backs under any form of pressure. Instead, the Wee Jambos looked to just sit in their shape and look to break when possible. This was something that was actually very effective as the pace from the Hearts front three caused troubles all evening for the Celtic defence.