Birthday boy gets slice of the cake

PAUL KIDDIE

AS birthdays go, it will rank as one of the more memorable.

Barely a month after joining the Hearts ground-staff, Alan Lithgow celebrated his big day with a place on the bench for the league clash with Inverness Caley Thistle.

With a flu virus having taken a severe toll on the first team and the club’s appeal to the SPL to have the game called off being refused, it meant a host of recognised stars were unavailable.

That meant good news for some of the club’s young stars and

in the absence of Robbie Neilson, Jason Thomson was handed his debut at right-back, the teenager appearing right at home on his first appearance in a maroon jersey.

Other notable inclusions on a youthful bench included Marco Pelosi, Gary Tierney, Calum Elliot and Hjalmar Thorarinsson, who were joined by the more experienced Ramon Pereira.

Lithgow’s promotion to the senior set-up was extra special, however, coming as it did on his 17th birthday. "I knew I was in the squad but I had no idea that I was going to be involved on the bench until the morning of the game," he said.

"The boss read out the team first of all and then went through the substitutes. That was the first I knew. With it being my 17th birthday, it certainly made it a special occasion."

Goals from Darren Dods and Barry Wilson clinched a 2-0 victory for the visitors and took the shine off the day for Lithgow, who was snapped up by the club having been spotted starring for juvenile outfit East Kilbride Borough.

The centre half is well aware that he wouldn’t have been involved had it not been for the chronic selection problems facing his manager in the wake of the virus which forced the closure of the club’s academy at the beginning of last week. Thomson was the main beneficiary, the 17-year-old looking another excellent prospect emerging from the youths.

Lithgow, though, regards his team-mate’s call-up and the continued success of Lee Wallace at left-back in recent weeks as the inspiration for other youngsters desperate for a chance at the big time.

"It was great to see Jason do so well and shows you what can happen if you keep working hard for the reserves," he said.

"I know there were exceptional circumstances but if I keep my head down and continue to work hard and play well for the reserves, then maybe I’ll get another chance at some stage in the future.

"I have signed for two-and-a-half years and Hearts is a club where youngsters will get an opportunity. The boss has already shown he isn’t afraid to play the young boys. It’s good to know that if you keep producing the goods for the reserves then you will get a chance and it’s up to us to be ready to make the most of that opportunity."

New dad Andy Webster capped his own memorable few days by donning the captain’s armband for the first time with both Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley confined to bed by the flu. Things didn’t go to plan, however, for the Scotland star with Inverness heading back up the A9 with all three points.

"I am not particularly proud as at the end of the day it is all about winning football matches," said Webster, who at 22 was the most ‘senior’ figure in the youngest rearguard fielded by the Jambos in the SPL. "Being made captain was nice but I basically felt disappointment due to the result."


Taken from the Scotsman