Hearts head coach Frankie McAvoy praised his players after they overcame first-half rustiness to secure an impressive 2-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on the cinch Premiership’s opening day.
In a close game that began after a short delay with a VAR power failure, Yutaro Oda eventually gave Hearts the lead with 15 minutes to go with a superb low strike and Lawrence Shankland sealed the win deep into stoppage time with a tap-in after unselfish play from Liam Boyce.
McAvoy – who was given the job in June on a full-time basis, alongside technical director Steven Naismith – also admitted relief as the Tynecastle side started the season with a victory ahead of Thursday’s Europa Conference League qualifier against Rosenborg.
He said: “I’m probably relieved for myself and the background team but delighted for the players and the supporters who I thought were fantastic.
“They came out in big numbers so delighted we’ve managed to get the three points and keep a clean sheet.
“The VAR breaking down before the game started probably didn’t help us much and it allowed them to settle a bit and put pressure on us.
“We know we were a bit rusty. St Johnstone have had more competitive games.
“You can have pre-season games like we’ve had but it’s not the real stuff. We knew that we just needed to be at it today and we felt as the game went on we got a wee bit better.”
Hearts gave competitive debuts to new signings Frankie Kent and Calem Nieuwenhof from the start, while Kyosuke Tagawa and Alex Lowry made debuts from the bench.
Lowry signed on loan from Rangers just yesterday and he was singled out for praise by McAvoy, who was pleased with the impact of his substitutes.
He added: “We’re delighted with the impact the subs made in the game and you can see the quality they’ve added. That’s great for the squad because we need strength in depth and we need them being really competitive.
“You can see that (Alex) Lowry’s got a bit of quality. We knew that. He’s coming from a massive club in Rangers as well. We’re delighted that he wanted to come here which was pleasing.
“He had a lot of options on the table and he chose to come here which is credit to him. He had the chance to go down south but he felt like we play in the right manner.”
St Johnstone boss Steven MacLean, meanwhile, was pleased with the reaction from his players after last week’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to Stirling Albion.
Despite not getting anything from the game, Saints competed for large periods and could have taken the lead through Liam Gordon and Graham Carey before Hearts’ breakthrough.
MacLean said: “I thought our performance was a lot better. We worked very hard for each other. We’re going to be a work in progress.
“Liam Gordon had a great chance and we had another couple of opportunities as well and you’ve got to take your chances against the better teams in the league – any games in fact.
“In terms of attitude, performance and work-rate, I’m happy with them.
“I think when you look at it, it’s one long ball into the box and we don’t win the first contact and the boy scores.
“That’s the difference today. If you look at Hearts’ bench, what they had to bring on and the difference from ours.
“I’m happy with my squad and I’m happy with my team today. We’ll get better going forward, we’ll bring in some more bodies and we will improve.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
