Sun 10th October
2004: The Under 16s produced a fine display in the second round of
the Scottish Cup when they drew 1-1 at home to Camelon Mariners. This was
a great performance as we only had 11 players available on the day, due to
injuries, and suspensions. The game started off well for us as we took control
of the midfield and played good football. We created a lot of chances but
never made them count. Camelon then forced Steven Daly to produce a fine save,
then they took the lead after a defensive mistake midway through the first
half on their second attack. This didn't knock us out of our stride as we
continued to play a passing game. Time and time again we found ourselves in
a position to get the equalizer but failed to find the net, and so went in
1-0 down at the interval.
The second half saw us put Camelon under a lot of pressure but still their
defence held firm. They continued to play the long ball over the top but never
really caused us any problems. Camelon did concede a penalty but their keeper
produce a fine save to deny Lee Jones. Everyone looked at each other and thought
this is just going to be one of those days. Then, as time was running out,
Neil Croal headed a deserved equalizer. We look forward to the return leg
when hopefully we will have more of our players available.
A massive thanks to Lynn Daly, Suzy Jones, Diane Folek and Julie Menzies for
all the hard work they did in providing both teams with a fantastic buffet.
They are a credit to the team and to the club.
A big thanks also goes out to the Grapes Bar in East Calder for providing
us with a terrific venue to hold the after-game buffet/refreshments.
Sun 19th September
2004: The Under 16s had a hard fought 1-1 draw with Muireston Blue.
This was not the best game of football you could have witnessed as the weather
was atrocious; the game almost never went ahead. Both teams really wanted
to win this one as both were sitting pointless. It was Hearts that took the
lead through Mark McTeggart after 20 minutes. Sean Menzies then headed in
from a corner only to see the ref blowing for an infringement. We did have
another couple of chances before the break but couldn’t find the net.
Half-time: 1-0.
After the break, Muirie started to get a grip of the middle of the park and
had a lot of possession but never looked dangerous. That was our own fault,
as we never got our passing game going; it was all hit and run stuff from
both teams. Murie did get level with about 10 minutes left on the clock to
make the final score 1-1.
Sun 12th September
2004: The Under 16s got their first win of the season with a hard
fought victory over Edinburgh City in the Scottish Cup. This was always going
to be a tough encounter as we were stretched to the limit through suspensions,
injuries and the departure of key players. The team started well but the conditions
made it impossible for both teams to play any kind of fluent football. Our
new signing, Martin Ovens, headed home from a corner to give us the lead.
Both teams worked away tirelessly without creating much in the way of chances
until City grabbed an equalizer on the stroke of half time.
After the break Kevin Ismail got the break of the ball after the ref allowed
him the advantage, and he made no mistake as he knocked it in to give us a
2-1 lead. Both teams continued to make the best of the conditions and we did
manage to hit the woodwork a couple of times, but the final score finished
2-1. Special mention for Lee Jones and Martin Ovens who were playing to the
top of their form, and to Paul Donlan and Michael Brannigan who both made
their debuts. WELL DONE LADS!!!
Sat 4th September
2004: LHCFC 12s finished off their pre-season friendlies in emphatic
style, winning 7-2 at home to Fauldhouse Foxes. We were poor against Whitburn
last week, losing 7-3, with two goals from Ryan Lynch and one from Andrew
McKibbens, but against the Foxes we were outstanding throughout the match.
Livi Hearts lost an early goal in the game but this didn’t affect us,
as we upped our performance and began to dominate in all areas of the park.
Goals in this game came from Ryan Lynch (3), Ryan Avinou (2), James Tiffoney
and Mark Ballantyne. Man-of-the-Match was awarded to Adam Cutkelvin (Captain)
who led by example from the right back position and never put a foot wrong.
So hopefully we can carry this performance into our first game of the season
on Saturday against our arch-rivals Murieston Red (Watch this space!!!!!)
Sun 27th August:
Under 15s suffered their 2nd defeat of the season as they were defeated 4-0
by a much improved Linlithgow team. As we stood on the sidelines it was evident
from the kick-off that Linlithgow wanted to win this game more than we did
because we failed to compete in most areas of the park coupled with the fact
our finishing was poor. We went into this match missing three players as they
decided to leave the team and join another team to play alongside their mates;
we wish them all the best in the future.
On Sunday 12th September we visit Edinburgh City in the first round of the
Scottish Cup. Although we played them in a pre-season friendly and defeated
them 8-1 this is a potential banana skin for us as they are flying at the
moment. If we go about our business and play the football we are capable of
playing, then we should be all right.
Thurs 19th August
2004: LHCFC 12s started their pre-season friendlies in fine style,
winning 2-1 away to Newlands at The Meadows (Bathgate). Livi Hearts had most
of the early possession but with some poor finishing and excellent defending
on Newlands part we were unable to convert our chances into goals. It ended
up 0-0 at half-time. We handed two of our new signings, Macon & Sebs,their
debuts at the start of the second half and they slotted in very well. Unfortunately
for us, Newlands hit us with a 'sucker punch' when they opened the scoring
with a very well worked goal which caught us a bit by surprise. As in years-gone-by
we have a great fighting spirit and it wasn’t long before we were level.
As Newlands cleared from our corner the ball fell nicely for Andy McKibbens
who fired in a fierce shot on the half-volley from around 15 yards out, which
sailed over the Newlands goalie. Both teams created some more chances before
the referee indicated there was one minute left of normal time. The coaches
of both teams would have settled for a 1-1 draw, but not the Livi Hearts players
as they drove forward once more looking for the winner. Their efforts were
to be rewarded as the ball fell to Ryan Lynch. He chipped it up for himself
and unleashed a 22 yarder which again flew over the head of the luckless Newlands
goalie which handed us a fantastic 2-1 win. This was a great team performance
although the Man of the Match award was handed to James Tiffoney for a faultless
performance at left back.
Sun 15th August:
Under 15s got off to a poor start to the season when they lost 3-1 to Murie
Reds. This was always going to be a tough opening match for us. We started
well enough as Scott Charleston fired us into an early lead after a mix-up
in the Murie defence. We looked in control in the first half until the impressive
Lee McSherry managed to give Sean Menzies the slip (for the first time in
the game) and slotted in a lovely goal from an impossible angle to level the
score before half time.
After the break we lost our way a bit as Murie scrapped for everything and
won most of the 50/50 balls in the middle of the park. They eventually scored
another two goals to make the full time score 3-1.
Sun 15th August
2004: LHCFC 15s suffered their second pre-season defeat when they
took on the much-fancied Salvesen FC from Edinburgh. Salvesen took the game
to us straight from the start and looked very comfortable in the first 15
min. Hearts then started to compete for everything in midfield and they were
rewarded for their efforts when Steven Folek put us 1-0 up. This opened up
the play as both teams went searching for goals. Chris Cockburn then added
to our lead when he cracked home a peach of a shot from the edge of the box
to give us a 2-0 half-time lead. The first half was very even despite the
scoreline.
We made five substitutes early in the second half to ensure everyone got a
good part of the game. The second half saw Salvesen get on the score sheet
to make the score 2-1. The goal saw them up the pace as they were winning
all the 50/50 balls in midfield. Our lads were beginning to feel the pace
as the visitors continued to put us under pressure as they searched for an
equalizer. They did manage to get on level terms with about 15 min left. Salveston
then scored the winner with the last touch of the ball but in fairness they
would have been disappointed not to get the winner after their second-half
display.
This was a good result as Salvesen are a big strong side that play attractive
football. They also finished runners-up in Edinburgh’s first division
league. WELL DONE LADS!!!
Sun 8th August
2004: The 16s put their last performance behind them and probably
played the best football seen in this pre-season build up. The opposition
was Caley from Edinburgh who felt the backlash of our previous result. Steven
Folek played his best game since joining the club as he totally destroyed
the Caley defence with a first half hat-trick. Gordon Muir also scored to
give us a 4-0 first half lead.
Scott Charleston was introduced in the second half and he also found himself
claiming a hat trick as he set about trying to prove us wrong for benching
him, but sometimes that’s what’s needed to keep them on their
toes. Credit to all the team as everyone from the keepers to the strikers
played to the top of their game. “WELL DONE GUYS”
Wed 4th August
2004: The under 16s were brought back to earth when they produced
their worst display of the season against Condorrat Colts. This will serve
as a timely reminder that we have to show the same consistency in every game.
This is not taking anything away from Condorrat Colts, as they were a very
good team, but we had too many players not playing to their usual standard
that night, coupled with the fact that they had seven shots on goal and scored
with six of them. We did have a few chances but only found the net once. Hopefully
when we meet again we will give them more of a game.
Sun 1st August
2004: James Robertson Memorial Cup.
The under 16s played host to Grahamston FC, Whitburn FC, and Hutchison Vale,
in what proved to be a very good tournament with a lot of nice football on
show. Hearts drew 1-1 in the opening game with Grahamston, while Whitburn
defeated Hutchison Vale 2-1.
In the second set of games, Hearts got back to playing the type of football
they normally play and defeated Whitburn 3-0, while Grahamston beat Hutchison
Vale 2-0.
In the last set of matches Hearts beat Hutchison Vale 1-0 and Grahamston defeated
Whitburn 4-1. The final results saw Grahamston run out winners with Hearts
R/U with a goal difference of one from Grahamston.
Wed 28th July
2004: The 16s continued their pre-season build up with an 8-1 win
over Edinburgh City. This was an excellent achievement when you consider we
were minus five players. To be fair to Edinburgh City, the score line did
not reflect the play as the visitors caused us a few problems in the first
half. In fact it was City who opened the scoring after only 10 min on the
clock, when they broke up the field and scored after clearing a corner. You
would have thought the goal would have signalled an improvement in their team,
but they struggled to put two passes together. We did however manage to get
on level terms when Steven Folek got on the end of Neil Croal’s through
ball. He ran 40 yards, beat a couple of defenders and scored from an acute
angle.
We made our only substitution at half-time when Nicky Pelc replaced Martin
Foy. No sooner had we kicked off and Tigger scored to put us in front. Then
Steven scored his second after the keeper threw the ball to him. Nicky and
Izzy (Kevin Ismail) were now buzzing in the middle of the park as they discovered
the passing that was missing in the first half. Nicky broke from midfield
and fired a half-volley high past the advancing keeper to put us 3-1 up. Martin
Foy came back on to replace Darren Keith at right back. Tigger was next to
score when he scored his second to put us 5-1 up. Team captain Lee Jones then
made it 6-1 after he bulleted a header high into the net from a corner kick
set piece that was straight out of the training ground. Scott Charleston did
manage to get on the score sheet when he slotted home a nice goal to make
the score 7-1. That was to be his last involvement as Darren came back on
and Tigger was moved up front. It wasn’t long before he made it 8-1
when he grabbed his third to finish off what was a frustrating night. I say
this because of our first half performance. This season we must show consistency
in our passing and our play because if we play the type of football we are
capable of playing we will get our rewards. WELL DONE LADS !!!
Wed 21st July
2004: The Under 15s kicked off their pre-season program in fine style
when they defeated Leith Athletic 5-1 at home. This was a terrific game of
open flowing football with both teams attacking at every opportunity. Hearts
got off to the perfect start when Gordon Muir scored the opener on his debut
with only five minutes on the clock. You could see by all the players attitude
that they were really up for this game as they continued to put the visitors
under constant pressure. Time and time again we found ourselves through on
the Leith goal but couldn’t find the net, but the lead up play was superb
with some lovely passing movements. Leith were doing most of their attacking
down our left but Martin Ovens who was also making his debut played really
well and with Lee and Mo in the centre of defence and Gordon on the right,
we looked quite solid and went in 1-0 at the break.
We brought on Neil Croal after the break and he was only on the park a couple
of minutes when he collected a poor clearance just outside the box and fired
an unstoppable drive high into the net to put us into a 2-0 lead. We made
another couple of changes as we were still controlling the game. Next on the
score sheet was Scott after he was sent clear; this time he made no mistake
as he slotted into the corner to make it 3-0. That was the signal to make
another couple of changes but that seemed to knock us off our stride as Leith
started to get a grip of the game and caused us a few problems before getting
one back. It took us a little while to adjust to the changes we made, and
once we did, team captain Lee Jones got on the score sheet with a superb headed
goal. This sparked us back into life and it was left Chris Cockburn to put
the icing on the cake when he drilled in a shot high into the net to make
the final score 5-1.
This was a superb performance by the whole team with everyone playing their
part. The difference with the team this season is the overall fitness of the
players, which was a telling factor in the game.
