Hearts Triumph Against Premier League New Boys

Hearts celebrated the career of Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Premier League newcomers Sunderland. Still recovering from a shoulder injury, Gordon was substituted early in a pre-planned move. A clear indication that his recovery was ongoing after missing the final three games of last season. Sunderland’s travelling support were in fine voice as their team started brightly. Simon Adingra, a £21 million signing from Brighton, looked lively on the left. However, it was Derek McInnes’s side who took the lead in the 11th minute. A cross from the right found Claudio Braga, whose bullet header sent the home support into raptures. This marked Braga’s fourth goal in Hearts’ maroon, already establishing himself as a fan favourite in Gorgie. The majority of the first half lacked quality, with neither team carving out clear chances. Hearts were forced to make a precautionary substitution when Calem Nieuwenhof picked up a hamstring issue. Hearts started the second half well. Efforts from the impressive Oisin McEntee and Lawrence Shankland raised the volume in what had been a subdued Tynecastle atmosphere. Just after the hour mark, Shankland doubled Hearts’ lead. Spittal and Milne linked up from a Hearts corner, firing the ball out to the captain, who drilled it low into the net. The move looked to have been masterminded by Hearts’ set-piece coach, Ross Grant. Sunderland rarely threatened the Hearts’ goal, appearing several weeks behind their opponents in terms of game time, fitness, and intensity. Regis Le Bris made a remarkable eight changes in the 70th minute, including the introduction of Patrick Roberts. The Hearts faithful gave the former Celtic man a “warm” welcome. Hearts made their own substitutions, notably bringing on Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis. The wide man proved a constant threat coming in off the left side and was rewarded with a goal after a defensive mistake from the Sunderland defence. For Hearts, this was a positive way to round off their pre-season. While McInnes noted plans for a behind-closed-doors friendly on Wednesday, this match felt like their final major preparation as they gear up for the visit of Aberdeen in nine days. TeamsHearts: Gordon, Kent, Halkett, Nieuwenhof, Shankland, Braga, Devlin, Milne, Findlay, McEntee, Forrester.Sunderland: Moore, Hume, Ballard, Seelt, Huggins, Neil, Sadiki, Le Fée, Talbi, Adingra, Mayenda.

Livingston cruise to a 6-0 victory over Kelty Hearts

Robbie Muirhead’s brace and goals from Andy Winter, Adam Montgomery, Shane Blaney, and Stevie May saw Livingston cruise to a commanding 6–0 victory over Kelty Hearts, securing second place in their Premier Sports Cup group. New Livingston Signings Adam Montgomery and Aidan Denholm featured in the Livingston squad as the team looked to end its cup group stages on a high note. Montgomery, who signed from Celtic, debuted as a left-back, with Denholm starting on the bench. A bright start from the Lions saw Winter knock the ball past two Kelty defenders, whipping it into the box, but seeing the chance cleared wide. From the resulting corner, Graham Carey’s ball was delivered into the front post and won by Winter. His header was flicked to the back post, beating Corey Armour and putting the hosts 1-0 up just minutes into the game. Only ten minutes into the game, Kelty were forced into an early change. Craig Clay came off due to injury; a Trialist replaced him. In the 26th minute, the debutant Adam Montgomery doubled the hosts’ lead. After making his run from left back into the box, a pass from Graham Carey came to him. He made no mistake, latching onto the opportunity, firing the ball into the side netting past Armour. Two minutes later, Livingston was awarded a free kick 30 yards out from goal. Robbie Muirhead stood over it, using this opportunity to get a shot at the goal. He hit the free kick well, dipping just over the wall and into the back of the net. Muirhead made it a brace in the 37th minute, after Daniel Finlayson’s cross from the byline found him unmarked just outside the six-yard box. Muirhead’s well-taken header capped another dominant spell for Livingston as they continued to assert their control. Minutes before half-time, Livingston thought they had added another to their already strong lead. After some great play down the right-hand side, Winter crossed a ball into the box, and it found its way to Scott Pittman, whose shot crashed off the crossbar, rebounding off the line. The hosts made two substitutes at the break, bringing on Aidan Denholm and Sam Culbert with Scott Pittman and Daniel Finlayson coming off. After some poor defensive play from Montgomery, James Graham found himself in a shooting position against Jerome Prior. His shot, however, was straight at Prior, leaving him an easy save to make—a big chance for Kelty to get a goal back. Due to injury, Denholm’s Livingston debut was cut short. He was substituted in the 67th minute, being replaced by Stevie May. In the 78th minute, Winter had a huge chance to grab a brace. Winter found himself in a shooting position after a poorly cleared cross fell to the back post. His strike, however, was saved very well by Armour. Livingston then made their final substitution of the match, with Shane Blaney coming on for Adam Montgomery. Livingston were sharp to take their corner in the 85th minute, catching the Kelty defenders off guard as Shane Blaney grabbed a late goal. Only minutes later, Stevie May headed the ball home. A great ball over the top of the defence from Carey saw May bearing down on goal. He calmly headed the ball past the keeper, making it 6-0.   Lineups: Livingston: J. Prior, A. Montgomery, R. McGowan, S. Pittman, R. Muirhead, G. Carey, A. Winter, D. Findlayson, M. Sylla, M. Tait, D. Wilson Subs: J. Hamilton, S. Blaney, A. Denholm, Z. Rudden, L. Smith, S. May, A. Shinnie, S. Culberts, J. Wanner Kelty Hearts: C. Armour, M. Thomas, A. Arnott, C. Johnston, L. Carrol, J. Graham, C. Clay, L. McCarvel, S. Mercer, C. Masson, J. Teasdale Subs: R. Adamson, B. Paterson, I. Murray, R. Cole, Trialist, C. Bexfield, G. Leitch, J. Brydon Attendance: 843

Falkirk Stroll Past Spartans to Seal Last 16 Spot

Falkirk beat The Spartans 4-0 at The Falkirk Stadium this afternoon in their final Premier Sports Cup group stage fixture. Dylan Tait scored in the first half, with Scott Arfield adding a second after the break, before Calvin Miller struck twice to round off an emphatic second-half display. The Bairns entered the match knowing that only a win would keep their hopes of progressing as a seeded team alive. Several sides, such as Premiership rivals Hearts, have already made it through on the maximum 12 points. Team News After the midweek win over Queen’s Park, John McGlynn spoke about rotating between goalkeepers Nicky Hogarth and Scott Bain ahead of the league season. That policy continued today, with the former Celtic stopper returning to the starting line-up in place of Hogarth. McGlynn has yet to confirm his first-choice goalkeeper for next Sunday’s Premiership opener against Dundee United, the club’s first top-flight fixture in 15 years. Also returning to the Bairns’ starting XI were Brian Graham, Tuesday night’s goal scorer, and talisman Scott Arfield. The Spartans needed a win to have any chance of leapfrogging Cove Rangers into second. They made changes themselves, including rotating their goalkeeper with Paddy Martin coming in. There was still no place for Jordan Tapping, who rejoined the club this summer after more than a year out of football in Australia. First Half Falkirk started brightly, particularly through Ethan Ross, who was fresh from scoring twice on Tuesday evening. His pace and delivery caused problems for the Spartans down their right-hand side. The Bairns made their pressure count before the half-hour mark. Brad Spencer whipped in a corner that Brian Graham met with a powerful header. Although his effort was blocked, Dylan Tait reacted quickest and smashed home the rebound. Spartans nearly found an unlikely equaliser late in the half when Liam Henderson misjudged a cross and almost diverted it into his own net, the ball skimming just over the bar. The score remained 1–0 at the break despite Falkirk’s dominance. Second Half That changed early in the second half. Arfield raced through one-on-one with Paddy Martin on the left side of the box and coolly slotted the ball beneath the Spartans’ goalkeeper to double the lead. Moments later, Arfield turned provider. The former Rangers midfielder fizzed a low cross into the box, where Keelan Adams pounced. His shot was blocked on the line, but Calvin Miller followed in to bundle the ball over and seal a comfortable win for Falkirk. Bain would make an excellent save to deny Bradley Whyte to ensure his competitive clean sheet record with the Bairns remained intact. Substitute Alfredo Agyeman turned provider for Miller’s second and Falkirk’s fourth. The Ghanaian picked up the ball on the left wing and delivered a pinpoint cross onto the foot of Miller, who volleyed it home. Falkirk had a couple of chances for a fifth, and a few penalty shouts were waved away, but the match finished 4-0 to the hosts, who advanced to the last 16. Despite their unbeaten group record, the Bairns go into the next stage unseeded, with Hearts, St Johnstone and Partick Thistle all joining the five Scottish European representatives as the seeded sides after finishing their groups on the maximum 12 points. Falkirk will now turn their attention to their Premiership return against Dundee United this weekend, while the Spartans will return to League 2 action against Lowland League winners East Kilbride. Attendance: 2,312