Neill shines in drab Berwick test

Berwick Rangers 1
Hearts XI 1

HEARTS' clash with Berwick Rangers at the weekend gave the small band of fans who made the journey south a glimpse into what the club's future could be like - and they will have left convinced that midfielder John Neill will have a big part to play.

The Jambos fielded a young side at Shielfield Park and while the 1-1 draw battled out against the Third Division side may not have been entertaining, the performance of Neill - last season's under-19 captain - certainly caught the eye.

Unfortunately though, the teenager's display was one of the few positives that could be taken from a match which did nothing to alter the view that the majority of pre-season clashes end up being dull and drab affairs.

The fact that no fewer than seven of the Hearts starting XI also played against Livingston on Thursday night will certainly have played a part. Neill was on the scoresheet in that 2-1 triumph and again led by example despite the energy-sapping conditions in the north-east of England, with the pitch at Berwick basking in glorious sunshine.

Neill, more than most, took all of this in his stride, looked comfortable on the ball and displayed a willingness to get forward at every opportunity.

For a player of such tender years he seems to possess the strength to boss a midfield, something that his young team-mates around him are still developing. Indeed, even with £500,000 signing Juho Makela on the park, Neill looked by far and away the best player in a maroon jersey.

Of course Berwick are by no means world beaters, far from it, although a virtually full-strength side made life difficult for the visitors in the early stages.

In fact it came as something of a surprise when David Armstrong fired the Tynecastle team into the lead with 20 minutes on the clock.

The defender's speculative cross-cum-shot from the corner of the box appeared to owe the fact it ended up nestling in the back of the net more to luck than design, but that didn't bother the youngster who certainly gave the impression he had meant it.

It would, however, have been very unfair on the wee Rangers had they not taken something out of the game and they duly grabbed a deserved equaliser six minutes from time when an unnamed trialist bundled the ball in after an untidy goalmouth scramble.

Assistant boss John McGlynn, right, was the first to admit the clash was far from entertaining but was at pains to point out the contribution of Neill.

"We never really got going on Saturday but then we had a hard game against Livingston on Thursday night and that maybe played a wee part," he mused. "We didn't have the experienced guys that we did the other night either and right from the start we looked tired.

"They looked sharper and I think we probably scored against the run of play. The equaliser maybe didn't come in the way we would have expected but we can have no complaints about the result.

"I thought a plus was John's performance and he also did really well at Livingston the other night and scored a good goal.

"His overall game then was good, and although on Saturday he didn't have as much time on the ball he still showed he can play.

"He's very strong for his age and has a really good build about him.

"He's an ideal size for a central midfielder and he's an athletic boy who can get about the park well.

"With our full midfield of Paul Hartley, Julien Brellier and [Bruno] Aguiar it will be very difficult to break into the first team at the moment but John just has to keep improving and when he gets an opportunity he has to try and take it. He's learning from the right sort of guys as Paul's an attacking midfielder and on the other side of it he can also learn from Julien Brellier who is more defensive. He's been doing well in training and he just has to keep doing that.

"The centre of midfield is probably the hardest place to break through in the SPL but John has all the attributes to be a decent player for us."

Only Makela and Hjalmar Thorarinsson, as well as trialist Tiago Costa, would have been easily recognisable to the Hearts supporters who travelled to cheer on their team.

And in the opening stages they must have feared that their part-time opponents were going to run away with the match such was their initial dominance.

Rob Manason, Ian Thomson and Kevin Haynes, after a mistake by Costa, all tested Jamie MacDonald inside the opening ten minutes and the goalkeeper had to look sharp to deny them.

In fact it wasn't until the 18th minute that the Jambos engineered their first scoring opportunity when a Neill drive looked netbound until a trialist deflected his effort wide of goal.

And just two minutes later McGlynn's men took the lead when Armstrong's speculative attempt found a away past Chris Flockhart via the far post. A midfield trialist for Berwick should then have levelled the game for them after he dispossessed Ross Hamilton but his weak shot when clean through on goal failed to trouble MacDonald.

Seventeen minutes from the interval Costa was again caught out by a simple through ball but his blushes were spared as his trialist opponent shot wide of the far post with only the goalkeeper to beat.

At half-time the completely ineffectual Makela was replaced and the fact he refused to speak to the assembled media after the clash was perhaps a sign of the frustration he felt at his own display.

In the second period Berwick again dominated and they carved out a great chance with 20 minutes remaining when a David Greenhill through ball split the Hearts rearguard only for Thomson to try and square the ball when he really should have shot.

The hosts did get the goal their play merited when they levelled the tie with 84 minutes played but for the Hearts fringe players it's a case of must do better if they are to give boss Valdas Ivanauskas any serious selection headaches.

And nobody more than Makela will have to up their game if he is to avoid being labelled a flop after his big-money January move. "He didn't really get much of the ball at all to be honest," conceded McGlynn. "It was very scrappy and this game probably came a bit close to the one on Thursday night when he played 55. He's still gaining match fitness so hopefully Saturday should help him."

Berwick Rangers: Flockhart, Trialist (Trialist 46), Noble, Trialist, Wood (McLean 66), Fraser, Manason, Thomson. Haynes, Greenhill (Lucas 76), Trialist. Subs not used: Smith, O'Connor, Brown, McNicholl

Hearts: MacDonald, Costa (Kelly 60), Pelosi, Lithgow, Armstrong, Jonsson, Doherty, Neill, Makela (Glen 46), Thorarinsson, Hamilton (Mearns 74). Subs not used: Barjaktarevic, Belatoni.

Taken from the Scotsman