[Hearts vs Aberdeen – Scottish Premiership – 29/12/2019]

Ratings
A1 – Very good player, could play higher
A2 – Strong potential to play higher
B1 – Good, strong player at level
B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
C – Average for the level, rewatch
D – Below average don’t follow up

Joel Pereira (23):

Player Profile:
-Nationality: Swiss-Portuguese
-Age: 23
-Date of birth: 28/06/1996
-Current club: Heart of Midlothian
-Career: Neuchâtel Xamax, Manchester United, Rochdale (L), Belenenses (L), Vitória de
Setúbal (L), KV Kortrijk (L), Hearts (L)
-Position: Goalkeeper
-Preferred foot: Right

In his fifth loan spell from the club, Joel Pereira is used in goal for most of this season and
this match was not an exception either. The Portuguese goalkeeper is decent when having
the ball at his feet by connecting well with the centre-backs to play out from the back. But
most of the passes made by him were not risky passes as he looked to distribute the ball
safely, and at times, played it out wide for the full-backs.

In the air, Pereira claimed the ball well and safely thanks to his positioning and allowed the
team to regain possession from an unsuccessful long pass or cross executed by Aberdeen
players. He stayed concentrated for the whole match and managed to neutralised
attempts made towards his goal and even saved a corner that headed towards the far post
of the goal (occurred at the 74th minute). But a weakness that he showed in Niall McGinn’s
free-kick goal was his decision to stay at the far post and leave a significant gap behind the
wall to allow McGinn to curve his shot into the bottom left corner.

Rating – B2

It was a decent match for Pereira as he did not face many shots that forced him to
showcase his ability. Still, it remains hard to come up with a decision whether he is good in
goal for the team only based on his performance in this match. I will find an opportunity to
rewatch another of Hearts match this season to track the progress of Pereira and his
teammates, but given he is still young, he still can become a good player not only for the
Scottish Premiership if given the correct guidance and game time.

Aaron Hickey (17):

Player Profile:
-Nationality: Scottish
-Age: 17
-Date of birth: 10/06/2002
-Current club: Heart of Midlothian
-Career: Hearts, Celtic
-Main position: Left-back
-Secondary positions: Centre-back, Right-back
-Preferred foot: Both

Hickey is one of the hot prospects that has just made his debut this season and the 17-
year-old left-back certainly did not disappoint Daniel Stendel when he was given the
chance. When he has the ball, Hickey showed good dribbling ability as he tended to make
overlapping runs with pace to stretch the opposition’s defensive shape. Combining well
with the winger in front of him, Oliver Bozanić, the duo on the left-hand side usually
swapped positions with each other as one would move into the half-space and the other
drifted wide. One attacking aspect that Hickey did not have the chance to show in this
match is his crossing since he only registered two crosses throughout the whole match, but
managed to float one of them into the box early in the match.

In defence, Hickey showed his awareness and intelligence well to intercept passes that
come towards his wing, especially when he had to face long passes and the overlapping
runs of Shay Logan constantly. He rarely backed down from a challenge and was ready to
involve in both a duel and an aerial challenge, although he was usually on the other side
given he is only 5’7” tall. Hickey also showed his intelligence when it comes to marking
Aberdeen’s attacker pretty well as he always tried to get that attacker in his sight and
ready to get in front of him before he could reach the ball (the situation from 57:17 to
57:27 demonstrated his marking ability as he saved Hearts from losing a goal).

Dead ball situations were not one of Hickey’s strengths since he usually stayed back during
corner situations and looked to win second balls for his team or preventing Aberdeen from
creating counter-attacks. But he was Stendel’s first-choice for throw-ins on the left-hand
side on the pitch since he was able to take long throws and allowed his teammates to pick
up the ball inside the opposition’s half.

Rating – A2
Hickey has the potential to make it to a higher level than the Scottish Premiership given he
is already a first-choice left-back under Stendel. At a very young age, more game time is
what he currently needs the most in order to improve his ability and style of play. It would
be very interesting to see Hickey occupies the role of a complete wing-back in the future as
he has the dribbling ability and the pace to do so. He would need a centre-back who is
willing to cover for him when he overlaps up the pitch in order to avoid getting exploited
down the left-hand side.

Andy Irving (19):

Player Profile:
-Nationality: Scottish
-Age: 19
-Date of birth: 13/05/2000
-Current club: Heart of Midlothian
-Career: Hearts, Berwick Rangers (L), Falkirk (L)
-Main position: Central midfielder
-Secondary positions: Defensive midfielder, Attacking midfielder
-Preferred foot: Left

In the role of a central midfielder for this match, Irving tended to drop deeper than his
colleague, Michael Smith, and was willing to link up with the centre-backs. On several
occasions, he also drifted wide to the right-wing and received the ball to dribble forward, a
situation that did not occur quite frequently in the match. One of his strengths that he
capitalised very well during the match was passing as he usually made long passes to the
other side of the field and opened up the play or found Uche Ikpeazu up front. Given that
he is the long free-kick taker for the team, it also allowed him to use his vision and crossing
skill to find a teammate inside the box and create a chance for him, though, his free-kicks
did not have a positive output as it only ended with either a clearance or a missed chance.

Irving’s mentality when receiving the ball was another thing that caught the eyes as he was
confident and calm to look for potential teammates in front of him and sent the ball into
their runs. His first touch was also decent, which allowed him to control the ball pretty
quickly and dictated the play. He tried to make long shots on several occasions of the
match but most of those attempts did not end very well.

When not in possession, Irving was very active when involving in duels to regain possession
quickly for his side. Although he did not have the strength needed to outplay the
opposition’s player, he won the ball through his tackles and stayed on his feet.
Interception was not the aspect that he showed often in this match since Aberdeen mostly
relied on long balls and counter-attacks and this forced Irving to take part in duels rather
than allowing him to read the situation and intercept passes.
Rating – A2

It’s hard to say if Irving is already a good player for the Scottish Premiership or not, but
based on his performance against Aberdeen, the future is bright for him. He dictated the
play quite well and created several chances for Hearts’ attackers to capitalise. His calm and
confident mentalities are another thing that could help him, especially when moving to a
higher level in the foreseeable future. It would be suitable to use Irving alongside a
midfielder who can carry his defensive responsibilities and allow him to receive the ball
and make passes more often. In front of him, several attackers who can make good use of
his long passes to get into the box and convert those chances are also needed. In a system
like that, Irving will certainly thrive with his passing range and playmaking ability.

Ryotaro Meshino (21):

Player Profile:
-Nationality: Japanese
-Age: 21
-Date of birth: 18/06/1998
-Current club: Heart of Midlothian
-Career: Gamba Osaka, Manchester City, Hearts (L)
-Main position: Attacking midfielder
-Secondary position: Left winger
-Preferred foot: Right

Deployed as a right-winger, Meshino worked in both the right half-space and the right-
wing while also roamed from his position occasionally. Dribbling is one of his biggest
strengths and he capitalised that very often during the match. He had a good pace in order
to outrun the opposition’s player and found himself good space to execute his intention of
either passing the ball or take the shot. Technique was another plus for him to allow
Meshino controlled the ball in tight space and worked his way out of trouble. Still, given
those strengths, he overused his flair for the majority of the second half and it forced the
team to lose possession on several occasions.

Another aspect of his play that he could improve on is his selfishness as there were
situations in the match where he opted to take a shot towards Aberdeen’s goal rather than
passing it to a teammate. In several of those situations, it could have opened a dangerous
chance for Hearts but Meshino’s decision had impacted the team’s attacking quality of the
match. Nonetheless, he still registered for himself a good goal, driving his shot from
outside the box to the top right corner and brought home one point for the team.

Defensively, Meshino showed he was aggressive when pressing the opposition’s player.
Though he did not make an interception and only register one tackle, his work rate
somewhat helped the team slowed Aberdeen’s attack down and allowed his teammates to
find a suitable position to locate themselves into. He did not need to be too reckless at
times, also earning himself a yellow card when the first half was halfway through, which
hindered his ability to contribute to the team’s press later in the match.

Rating – B1

Meshino is an interesting prospect to follow when he returns to Manchester City in the

summer. He is a skilful winger who can do unexpected things when he has the ball in his
feet, but he can also be a team player to create chances for his teammates. The Japanese
prospect needs to be less selfish and reckless at times since these two mentalities can limit
his contribution to the team’s play. But if he keeps on playing like his performance against
Aberdeen, the prospect of playing in the top European leagues is very realistic for
Meshino.