Hearts Archives - Page 3 of 11

Marc Leonard Red Card Appeal Dismissed

The Scottish Premiership has once again found itself at the centre of controversy following the decision to dismiss Marc Leonard’s appeal against his red card, a ruling that has sparked fresh debate around VAR intervention and consistency in officiating. The incident occurred during the match between Heart of Midlothian and Livingston, where Leonard who is on loan at Hearts, was initially shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Livingston forward Robbie Muirhead. However, following a VAR review, referee Kevin Clancy upgraded the booking to a straight red card, judging the foul to be a denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Hearts subsequently lodged an appeal through the Scottish FA’s fast-track tribunal process, arguing that the criteria for the incident had not been met. Despite these claims, the appeal was dismissed, meaning Leonard’s suspension remains in place. The controversy adds to ongoing concerns about VAR’s role in the Scottish game. Critics argue that interventions should be reserved for “clear and obvious” errors, while supporters maintain that the system helps correct critical mistakes. Leonard’s case highlights the fine margins involved in such decisions and the difficulty in achieving universal agreement on subjective calls. For Hearts, the decision is a significant blow. Leonard, who joined the club on loan from Birmingham City in January, has been a key midfield presence, and his suspension comes at a crucial stage of the season. With fixtures piling up and league positions tightly contested, his absence could prove costly in the race for the title.

April 9, 2026

“Delighted to be amongst it” – McInnes relishing split after fixture announcement

Derek McInnes claims he would be happy to face Hearts’ title rivals “in a car park” following the release of their highly anticipated post-split fixtures. Speaking before they clash with Motherwell, the manager acknowledged that while the team is focused on the pitch, the specific scheduling of the Jambos’ remaining games may be a source of frustration for the supporters. “I actually don’t really care from our point of view where we play and the times and all the rest of it.” “We’re just delighted to be part of the whole conversation, delighted that we’re going to be in amongst it and looking forward to the games when they come up,” “It’s not great for the fans that they don’t get Saturday three o’clock, but I think, you know, having three away games, it was probably difficult to fit everything in. “I get how not everybody’s going to be happy. I think the league have got a tough job to try and keep every club happy and every set of supporters happy, but for us we’re just obviously excited about the games that are coming up. “I think you look at them, a lot of mouth-watering fixtures, we’ve said that the top six would sort everything out, and these fixtures will. They’re brilliant fixtures.” Roughly 600 away supporters are expected at Celtic Park to witness a potentially historic moment for Hearts, as the club stands on the verge of securing its first top-tier league title in over six decades. “That’s disappointing, that is, and I can understand the frustration from that.” “Let’s hope that we are getting into that game with plenty to play for, and we’ve got a lot of work to do before then, but I totally get that.” The Hearts manager believes the final day showdown with Celtic will be an “unbelievable” finale. “If both teams are still in the mix for winning a league, it’s the most dramatic fixture you can have.” McInnes believes the title drama could go down to the wire, with Falkirk hosting Rangers on the final matchday simultaneously. “They’ve got a difficult away game last game of the season as well, so I think it’s up to the league and the TV companies to try and maximise the drama,”. Hearts Post Split Fixtures Hibernian v Heart of Midlothian (26th April 4:30 pm) Heart of Midlothian v Rangers (4th May 5:30 pm) Motherwell v Heart of Midlothian (9th May 8:00 pm) Heart of Midlothian v Falkirk (13th May 8:00 pm) Celtic v Heart of Midlothian (16th May 12:30 pm)

April 8, 2026

“I thought he was terrific” – Derek McInnes on Lawrence Shankland’s return

Lawrence Shankland returned with 90 minutes in Hearts’ 2-2 draw with Livingston and had a major part to play in both goals. Shankland equalised for Hearts midway through the first half, as well as assisting striker partner Claudio Braga to give Hearts their second goal in West Lothian. The striker was missing for eight matches with a hamstring injury and was given a cameo introduction during Hearts’ victory over Dundee before the international break. And the Hearts talisman delivered on his first full 90 minutes back from injury, showing his quality to keep Hearts at the top of the table. After the match, McInnes said: “I thought he [Shankland] was terrific throughout, I thought he linked the play brilliantly, but he looked a threat, his headers top class, and he was in the middle of the goal so often. I think you see exactly what he is today.” McInnes also talked about how big a miss Shankland and others have been in recent fixtures, especially away from home. He said: “I think we’ve missed certain players within it, to be honest. I don’t think we’ve had the same attacking threat of late without Shankland and others.” With six matches remaining, the Hearts support will be looking for their captain and other key players to show their fine form that has been produced throughout the season. In hope to take the Scottish Premiership title away from Glasgow for the first time since 1985.

April 7, 2026

Two Leagues, One Identity: Hearts’ Rise

Heart of Midlothian’s position at the top of both the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Women’s Premier League 1 in the 2025/2026 season is not simply just a reflection of strong form, but of a club wide model built on structure and efficiency. For the men’s team, Derek McInnes has built a side that knows exactly what it is. Hearts are compact and difficult to break down, closing off central areas and forcing opponents to dig deep into the game. Their defensive structure this season has also been very strong, with Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay receiving high praise from the manager consistently. In midfield, there’s a clear balance. Cameron Devlin brings energy and aggression, winning the ball back and driving the team forward, while Beni Baningime and Marc Leonard offer a calmness and control when things need to slow down. The women’s team, led by Eva Olid, have taken a slightly different route to the same outcome. Their style is more front-footed, with an emphasis on pressing high and winning the ball back quickly. Georgia Timms has been a major influence in attack, making the most of those moments with sharp positioning and consistent finishing. Around her, Carly Johns adds creativity and movement, finding space and linking play in dangerous areas. What stands out across both teams is how clear everything looks. Players understand their roles, the shape is consistent, and the approach doesn’t change drastically from game to game. Recruitment, coaching, and player development all seem aligned, which is helping create success on both sides of the game. There are not many games left to go this season, and staying at the top will bring its own pressures. But right now, Heart of Midlothian look well equipped to handle that.

April 6, 2026

Hearts retake top spot despite being held by Livingston

Hearts reclaimed top spot in the Scottish Premiership despite being held to a 2-2 draw by bottom-of-the-table Livingston on Sunday afternoon. Rangers’ 4-2 victory over Dundee United at Ibrox yesterday afternoon means the Jambos’ lead at the top of the Premiership table is now just a single point, with six games remaining. The hosts took a shock lead in the 5th minute, as they took full advantage of the first opportunity of the game. Babacar Fati played a fine ball into the box from the left-hand side, an initial shot from Scott Arfield was blocked before the ball fell kindly to Stevie May, who fired the ball low into the bottom corner to net his first goal of the season. Marvin Bartley’s men had made a fast start to the game and were making life difficult for the visitors in the opening exchanges. Hearts were beginning to grow into the game and enjoy some much-needed possession after a nervy start. Claudio Braga had two attempts at goal, his first strike could only find the side netting from a tight angle, before he managed to wriggle away from Livingston’s backline inside the box, but his strike was tame and collected by Jerome Prior in the Livingston goal. The Jambos had their equaliser in the 25th minute. Cristian Montano failed to clear the ball on the edge of his own area, Birmingham loanee Marc Leonard was first to react to the loose ball, playing a perfectly timed ball into the box for Lawrence Shankland, who rose highest to put his side back on level terms and cancel out Stevie May’s opener. Shankland’s equaliser kick-started a spell of dominance for the Gorgie side, with the talisman coming close to a second goal of the afternoon when Claudio Braga controlled Kyziridis’ high cross into the box, allowing Shankland time to strike from range, but his volley flew narrowly wide. In the 40th minute, Hearts threatened once more. Claudio Braga tested the fingertips of Jerome Prior from distance, Prior got down well to his left to divert Braga’s low effort away from danger. The final notable chance of an eventful first half came when Scott Arfield sent a low free kick wide of the Hearts goal. Both sides had to deal with troubling weather conditions as torrential rain and snow began to fall in West Lothian. Hearts started the half the better of the two and took the lead in the 50th minute. Braga and Shankland had looked dangerous all afternoon, and the pair combined well to net their team’s second goal of the game. Shankland’s header at the far post was blocked well by Cristian Montano, but the ball would drop back for the Scotland striker, who played the ball back across goal for Braga, who leaped highest to beat several defenders and give his side a vital lead. Despite Braga’s header, Hearts could only keep their advantage for a matter of minutes. Livingston responded brilliantly to going behind for the first time in the match. Cristian Montano drove forward with the ball on the byline before cutting it back for Joel Nouble inside the box; he miscued an attempt from range, but the ball fell for Lewis Smith, who blasted the ball beyond Alexander Schwolow. The match started to become a very scrappy and end-to-end affair throughout spells of the second half, with both teams struggling to break each other down after Smith’s equaliser, as the game entered the closing stages. As the game entered four minutes of additional time, Robbie Muirhead looked to drive past Marc Leonard on the halfway line, only to be wiped out and brought down. Leonard was shown a yellow card, but a lengthy VAR check followed, which saw the yellow be upgraded to a red card, meaning Hearts had to see the final few seconds of the game out with ten men. Next up for Hearts is a home game against Motherwell next Saturday, meanwhile Livingston travel to Tannadice to face Dundee United.

April 5, 2026

Hearts: McInnes Provides Injury Update Ahead Of Livingston Match

Derek McInnes has provided an injury update ahead of his squads clash against Livingston on Sunday. The Hearts boss said “Kingsley is back in and Halkett’s fine after missing last time out with his back” “Magnusson has been training, and he had a mask fitted and was training absolutely fine. But, he has picked up a thigh strain now, doing some shooting on Wednesday.” “He will miss the game, we will get a bit further investigation on him and see how he is” “Harry (Milne) and Stu (Stuart Findlay) are progressing well. The game will come too quick for Harry. But we might have a chance of Stu being involved” “He’s had a good week’s work with the medical team and will train tomorrow” Positive updates from the manager ahead of this game where the Jambos will take 7000 fans through to Livingston. Last time the two sides met at the Home of the Set Fare Arena was in August and ended in a 2-1 victory to Hearts. The league leaders are currently on 66 points with Rangers a close second on 63. They have been top of the league since the end of September but with Rangers playing on saturday we could see a shift for the first time in over 6 months.

April 4, 2026

Derek McInnes highlights the fans impact ahead of Kilmarnock

Derek McInnes spoke to the media as his side makes the journey to Kilmarnock this weekend in the hopes of extending their lead at the top of the table. McInnes said “The fans will be in fine form. I mean there is no two ways about it” “I think we could play at 4 in the morning, and I think our fans would be there. That’s the way it feels at the minute” “We feel as if they just want to follow us, and the backing we get home and away has been first class this season” “So when we run out at Rugby Park for the warm up and the lads see that, it feels like a big game right away.” “It also feels like a big game for the opponents and it feels like a cup tie.” “A lot of our better moments have been, so many at Tynecastle but a lot of the good memories already this season and the good moments have been away from home” “Saturday is going to be another opportunity to have that” The Jambos are currently 6 points clear of Rangers in the title race with Celtic 8 points behind in third. As the Hearts head coach travels to face his old team with only 9 games remaining in the league it holds immense pressure to win and push his side to winning the title.

March 14, 2026

“We could play at four in the morning and our fans would be there” – McInnes

Amid rising title talk, Derek McInnes insists Hearts have to “concentrate on winning games of football” when they resume their campaign against Kilmarnock on Saturday evening. Addressing the media on Thursday, McInnes observed a sense of “calm” within the squad ahead of a defining run of games. “It’s down to the efforts of the players, how well they’ve done. The focus has been great. The last couple of games have really pleased us in the sense that we’ve got the desired outcome. “But the performances have been good as well. We just need to refocus on the next challenge.” “If we can replicate a lot of what we’ve done between the start of the season and now, then we’ll put ourselves in with a chance. But with nine games to go, there’s still almost a quarter of the season, 27 points to win, 27 points that you can lose.” McInnes revealed stalwarts Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland will return to full training next week, but the Kilmarnock match will come “too soon” for both players. The manager also lauded the support of the travelling Gorgie fans, 5000 of whom will pack out the Rugby Park away end. “We feel as if they just want to follow us, and the backing we get home and away has been first class this season, and they’ve got a huge part to play, so when we run out at Rugby Park for the warm up, and the lads see that it feels like a big game right away.” Hearts face Kilmarnock on Saturday evening, looking to maintain their lead at the summit of the Scottish Premiership.

March 12, 2026

Hearts edge past Aberdeen to extend gap to seven points at the top

A Claudio Braga first half goal gets Hearts over the line and extends the gap at the top of the league to seven points ahead of tomorrow’s Old Firm clash at Ibrox. Aberdeen were on the front foot right away and were awarded a free-kick from outside the box following a foul on Olusanya but a Nisbet strike struck the Hearts wall. Keskinen moments later with a darting run down the left flank who put it into Olusanya but failing to connect. Milne with a great cross into the box found Magnusson but his header going just wide of target after four minutes. Milne again with a brilliant ball into the box where Claudio Braga met but again just firing wide of goal as Hearts continued to threat Mitov in goals. Kyziridis had a chance from a very difficult angle soon on but wasn’t causing Mitov any issues as it goes just over the bar. Kabore with a gem of a chance, through on goal with just Mitov to beat, chipped the ball but went jusr inches wide of target – a chance he had to take. Aberdeen with a chance after 25 minutes as Keskinen with a darting run down the wing, a through ball into Olusanya who was put off by McCart as he couldn’t hit target. Kabore did brilliantly to get past Morrison who squared the ball into Braga who calmly slotted home to continue their title charge. Hearts had a chance nine minutes before the break, Spittal with a curling effort from the edge of the box which fired just high of goal. Into the second 45, Devlin had chance to level the game but his chance being blocked and out for a corner. A ball in from Cameron found Nisbet deep in the box with his volley striking wide of target. Spittal had another chance from the edge of bos which curled towards goal but a save to Mitov to deny Hearts a second as Kabore moments later had another chance which was stopped by the legs of Aberdeen’s number one. After the hour mark, Braga with a ball across to Kyziridis with his effort going across goal again which found Braga once again with his effort being a simple save for Mitov. A quiet second half Aberdeen just unable to test Schwolow in goals as Hearts doing well to see out the game. Substitute Chesnokov had a strike from inside the box but well blocked to deny Hearts a second. As the full-time whistle goes, a Braga first half goal gives Hearts the deserved three points as Hearts stretch their lead to seven points as Aberdeen’s winless run at Tynecastle continues. Hearts: Schwolow (7), Steinwender (7), Halkett (7), McCart (7), Milne (7), Kyziridis (8), Magnusson (7), Leonard (7), Spittal (7), Braga (9), Kabore (7). Substitutes: Kent )6), Baningime (6), Chesnokov (6). Aberdeen: Mitov (6), Devlin (5), Morrison (5), Milne (6), Molloy (6), Shinnie (5), Olusanya (4), Geiger (6), Cameron (6), Keskinen (6), Nisbet (6). Substitutes: Nilsen (6), Frame (6), Armstrong (6), Lobban (6), Lazetic (6).

February 28, 2026

League Leader Hearts welcome struggling Aberdeen to Tynecastle

Hearts meet Aberdeen in the Capital tomorrow as Hearts look to extend their gap at the top with Aberdeen looking to end their winless run at Tynecastle. Aberdeen were the first side to hand out defeat to Hearts this campaign as a Topi Keskinen strike from the edge of the box gave Aberdeen a huge 1-0 win back in November which saw Hearts defeated for the first time in this season. The two sides also met on opening day at Tynecastle where Hearts began there sensational season with a 2-0 win with a Shinnie own-goal and Stuart Findlay header sealing the win for the Jambos. Last time out for the hosts, they defeated Falkirk narrowly with a 1-0 win on home soil against Falkirk. Islam Chesnokov grabbed his first goal in maroon just before the half-time interval helping Hearts move further away from both Celtic and Rangers who both dropped points on Sunday against Hibernian and Livingston respectfully. Aberdeen were in action on Tuesday in their re-arranged game with Dundee United at Tannadice as it ended up being a dull goalless draw in the City of Discovery. The pitch didn’t help neither teams in any way with recent rainfall in the city but a strong second half display by the Dons gave them some positives but still unable to find the back of the net which saw Aberdeen remain 8th behind Dundee United. Hearts have netted on seven occasions in their last five whereas Aberdeen have scored four in their last five. Hearts have only been defeated at home once this campaign which was their Scottish Cup exit to Falkirk following a penalty shootout defeat. Aberdeen have failed to win on their travels since the start of December in a 3-1 win at Dens Park with no away goal since just before Christmas as Bilalovic netted away to Celtic. Hearts have had issues in terms of injuries as both Shankland and Devlin are set to remain out. Craig Gordon will also miss out with a shoulder injury, Oisin McEntee misses also with a shoulder injury and Stuart Findlay looks likely to miss out after an injury picked up against Falkirk. Nieuwenhof, Ageu and Kingsley also miss out. For Aberdeen, they have issues at the back with both Gyamfi, Tobers and Knoester all out with McIntyre joining that list after going off at Tannadice. Nick Suman also remains out through injury.

February 27, 2026

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