Hearts Enter Winter Break On A High
Heart of Midlothian solidified third in the Scottish Premiership table after making it five games without defeat over the New Year fixtures.
The Macklin Motors-backed side went into the final match of 2023 on the back of the dramatic last minute victory over Hibs in the Edinburgh derby, with Ross County the visitors to Tynecastle.
The Highland side had had two successive games postponed due to poor weather so were arguably fresher going into the match, and they had a goal disallowed within two minutes of the start for offside.
County eventually hit the front in the second half when Alex Cochrane put through his own goal, with a fine free kick from Yan Dhanda then doubling the advantage to leave Hearts facing defeat.
However, with little under 20 minutes left on the clock, Kenneth Vargas slid home to give Hearts hope before talisman Lawrence Shankland added to his impressive goal tally to slot in the equaliser – cementing his place as the top scorer in the league across the calendar year.
It meant Hearts salvaged a point, although a contentious decision not to award a penalty for an apparent foul on Alan Forrest would leave manager Steven Naismith far from impressed.
The first game of 2024 saw Hearts travel to Livingston, with the home side having an early goal disallowed as they looked to end a poor run of form.
Hearts had a chance to take the lead from the penalty spot after a foul on Forrest but Shankland saw his kick saved – the second successive time he had been unable to convert a penalty having previously scored 15 in a row.
Two minutes later, Hearts hit the front thanks to a cool finish from Vargas and Shankland then made amends when he controlled a ball from Forrest and drove home to score for a sixth successive game. Livingston pulled one back through an Andrew Shinnie penalty but Hearts held on to enter the winter break five points clear of Kilmarnock in third spot in the table – with a game in hand.
Next up is a Scottish Cup tie away at The Spartans on 20 January.