Heart of Midlothian's B side continue to look for their first win since August after drawing 0-0 with lowly Cowdenbeath at Ainslie Park on Friday night.

It was a case of deja vu to an extent for the Wee Jambos as they performed well in the first half before tailing off after the break.

Both Macaulay Tait and James Wilson started the match having been on the bench for the Conference League defeat to Heidenheim the following evening.

Joel Sked was at Ainslie Park and looks back at the action.

Tale of two halves

Regular observers of the B team can be forgiven for thinking, even expecting, Cowdenbeath to nick a win in the second half of Friday night's match. Simply because they would have seen a similar movie before. Hearts were by far the better side in the first half, playing some really nice, positive football but failing to convert the chances that were created. Then, once the interval was over and done with the same purpose and intensity were lacking as the opposition grew into the game.

Thankfully on this occasion, Hearts, through a mixture of last-ditch defending and excellent goalkeeping, made sure they wouldn't be going into the weekend with a defeat. In fact, with Cowdenbeath down to 10 men for the closing stages due to an injury, they could and should have won it when a fantastic ball from deep by Macaulay Tait found Bobby Mcluckie, off the bench, racing through on the left but he shot into the near side netting.

The first-teamers

Of course, several youngsters have and do train with the first team, whether it is occasionally or a regular occurrence. However, it was Wilson and Tait, unsurprisingly, who were the standout names in Angus Beith's starting XI. 

In the first half Tait, alongside Dom Plank, was probably the outstanding player on the park. Tait did his usual job of setting the tempo, making himself available, and trying to dictate the play. Sometimes that was through recycling possession while on other occasions he demonstrated his ability to carry the ball forward. Out of possession, there was the usual tenacity. Meanwhile, Plank, the type of winger to get you off your feet, produced a few moments of exciting wing play, committing players and going close on a couple of occasions. 

Wilson meanwhile was more on the periphery. The way Hearts play, a focus on getting the ball to the wide men, Plank and Gus Stevenson, the striker is not involved as much in the build-up. They are, however, there to sniff out chances which the teenager did on a couple of occasions. Or to be more accurately half chances. He had a couple of efforts which went close but unfortunately, as was the case for the full match, Hearts simply didn't test the goalkeeper.

All three players mentioned fell out of the game after the break as Hearts struggled to gain the same control as they had in the first half.

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Clean sheet

While Hearts didn't get the goal their play merited in the first half, an encouraging aspect was the clean sheet. It was just their second of the campaign.

Jamie MacDonald made mention of it when he spoke to Hearts Standard after the game.

"It's alright being academy and playing all the time, but there are times like tonight you had to dig in defensively," he said. "It was great to get a clean sheet. That's one thing we said before the game, let's get a clean sheet, because we've struggled recently.

"The boys have done it. We're disappointed not to get the win. I think the boys showed a bit of grit and determination and a bit of character tonight, which was really pleasing to see because you need that."

Lyon's heroics

A key part of that clean sheet was substitute goalkeeper Jack Lyon. The 16-year-old replaced MacDonald in the second half due to a tight calf.

Cowdenbeath had offered little in attack in the first half but grew into the game after the break but had still struggled to penetrate the Hearts defence meaning MacDonald was relatively quiet. When he came on, Lyon was called into action twice. There was a brilliant stop down low when it looked like the Blue Brazil were set to take the lead and then, perhaps just as impressive as his reflexes, was the decision making and commitment to race out and sweep up behind his defence before the Cowden forward could get to the ball.

For someone so young, especially a goalkeeper, to make the jump up in level and not look fazed or out of place says a lot about his potential.

Keen observers

With the first team not playing until Sunday, every member of the coaching staff was at Ainslie Park. Neil Critchley and Mike Garrity were interested observers from the balcony overlooking the pitch. Liam Fox, who had been in charge of the team until taking the interim role after Steven Naismith's departure, watched the game from the dugout area, and goalkeeping coach Paul Gallacher was also in attendance, giving Lyon a big pat on the back after the match.

It is nothing new with the previous management team keen observers of the B team when it was possible. But it is encouraging nonetheless when the first-team coaches are taking such an interest. It sends a message to the young players that they are being watched with a view to getting a chance, even if it is just to train with the first team.

Meanwhile, the coaching situation with the B team should have a permanent solution in the not-too-distant future.