A fairly uninspiring Heart of Midlothian B performance resulted in a 3-0 defeat to Albion Rovers.

A first-half brace from Dom McMahon was enough to put the Wee Jambos two behind at the interval. A pretty uneventful second half was rounded off by a third goal from the home side to secure the three points.

This result adds to the poor run of games that now leaves the B team 11th in the Lowland league. 

First Half Set back

As the half-time whistle blew, Hearts B found themselves two goals behind. It felt slightly harsh considering they had the majority of the ball and created a few half-decent chances along the way. Their downfall was dealing with the directness of the Rovers attack as they looked to be direct on the counterattack.

The second half brought out a rejuvenated Hearts side as they showed signs of life in the opening spells and it looked very positive. Substitute Dom Plank made an instant impact with his direct runs troubling the Rovers right back. However, as the half went on the chances of a comeback looked ever more unlikely. 

Dealing with the physicality 

In the build-up to the match, Albion Rovers manager Sandy Clark spoke on the importance of his squad being more physical to overcome this Hearts B side. That is something they brought to the game. Rovers striker Bright Prince was the standout as he was visibly much taller than the Hearts centre-back pairing. Although the scoreline may not reflect it, the Wee Jambos dealt with the physical side of it well with some hard-fought battles being contested but were undone by the opponents' direct style of play.

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Lack of chances

Throughout the match the Wee Jambos had the majority of the ball. Some nice football was played during that time, with Callum Sandilands and Macaulay Tait at the heart of it. However, a real frustration from the coaching staff will be the lack of goal attempts. Chasing the game after the break was something that played into the hands of the hosts. As the game developed in they looked comfortable to sit deep in their shape to hold their 2-0 advantage as Hearts didn’t really seem to threaten much.

Hearts looked to play down the wide areas during the game but failed to make the most of the attacking creativity out on the wings. On top of that, poor decision-making in the final third meant they struggled to break down the low block of Albion Rovers. All of this allowed it to be a fairly comfortable afternoon for Ross Connelly in the Rovers net who was never troubled. 

10 games without a win

August 16 was the last time that Hearts B picked up three points, a 6-1 win over Berwick Rangers. A 10-game winless run has left the side 11th in the Lowland league. Winning games and the league position is not the ultimate ambition for the B team, it is developing players but such a run will test the character and confidence of players.

The loss of Liam Fox to the first team probably didn’t help matters, and as several key players have moved on from the B team recently - both on loan and to the first team - it has been an unsettling couple of months for the Wee Jambos. At points yesterday, it did feel like watching a team lacking in confidence. A lack of intent and belief that they could go and win as the game just seemed to fizzle out, Rovers players and fans seemed to gain confidence with every passing minute Hearts failed to create anything with the ball.