2018–19 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season

Heart of Midlothian

2018–19 season
Chairman	Ann Budge
Manager	Craig Levein
Stadium	Tynecastle Park
Premiership	6th
League Cup	Semi-final (lost to Celtic)
Scottish Cup	Runners-up (lost to Celtic)
Top goalscorer	League: Steven Naismith (10) All: Steven Naismith (14)
Highest home attendance	19,667 (v. Hibernian, Premiership, 6 April 2019)
Lowest home attendance	7,486 (v. Cowdenbeath, League Cup, 24 July 2018)
Average home league attendance	18,441
Home colours Away colours

The 2018–19 season was the 122nd season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian (Hearts) with the team participating in the Scottish Premiership. Hearts were playing their fourth consecutive season in the top tier of Scottish football, having been promoted from the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2014–15 season. They reached the Semi-final of the Scottish League Cup and reached the Final of the Scottish Cup.

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Friendlies

Hearts will return for pre-season training on 21 June, with the first preseason friendly scheduled to take place against Arbroath at the start of July. Further preseason friendlies are scheduled to take place against Dumbarton, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South and Forfar Athletic. A scheduled trip to Germany for a training camp was cancelled.

During the winter break Hearts travelled to Murcia for a five-day training camp. Whilst in Spain they are scheduled to play a bounce game against Lokeren.

3 July 2018 Friendly	Arbroath	1 – 2	Heart of Midlothian	Gayfield Park
19:30	Hester 90'	Hearts Report Evening News Report	Keena 43' Callachan 85'	Attendance: 664 Referee: Newlands

7 July 2018 Friendly	Dumbarton	0 – 2	Heart of Midlothian	Dumbarton Football Stadium
19:45		Hearts Report	Ikpeazu 13', 86'	Referee: McLean

8 July 2018 Friendly	Heart of Midlothian	3 – 1	Partick Thistle	Central Park
14:00	Garuccio 2' Lee 55', 76'	Hearts Report Evening News Report	O'Ware 39'	Attendance: 811 Referee: Robertson

11 July 2018 Friendly	Queen of the South	1 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Palmerston Park
19:45	Smith 35' (Own goal)	Hearts Report Evening News Report		Attendance: 750 Referee: Dallas

14 July 2018 Friendly	Forfar Athletic	1 – 5	Heart of Midlothian	Station Park
15:00	Baird 58'	Hearts Report Evening News Report	Callachan 13' Mulraney 16' Zanatta 49' Currie 73', 87'	Attendance: 718 Referee: Anderson

11 January 2019 Friendly	Sporting Lokeren	1 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Real Club de Golf Campoamor Resort
15:00	Jovanović 13'	Hearts Report

Premiership

The Scottish Premiership fixture list was announced on 15 June 2018. Hearts began the season with a 4–1 away victory against Hamilton Academical at New Douglas Park.

4 August 2018 Scottish Premiership	Hamilton Academical	1 – 4	Heart of Midlothian	New Douglas Park
15:00	Miller 17'	BBC Report	Haring 20', 58' Naismith 49' (Penalty) MacLean 62'	Attendance: 3,764 Referee: Dallas

11 August 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 0	Celtic	Tynecastle Park
12:30	Lafferty 56'	BBC Report		Attendance: 19,113 Referee: Beaton

25 August 2018 Scottish Premiership	Kilmarnock	0 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Rugby Park
15:00	Dicker  68'	BBC Report	Ikpeazu 81'	Attendance: 6,239 Referee: Collum

1 September 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	4 – 1	St Mirren	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Naismith 4' (Penalty), 41', 43' Lee 30'	BBC Report	Dunne 19' (Own goal)	Attendance: 17,714 Referee: Clancy

15 September 2018 Scottish Premiership	Motherwell	0 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Fir Park
15:00		BBC Report	Naismith 28'	Attendance: 7,218 Referee: Madden

29 September 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	2 – 1	St Johnstone	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Haring 25' Dunne 65'	BBC Report	Callachan 77'	Attendance: 17,240 Referee: Walsh

7 October 2018 Scottish Premiership	Rangers	3 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Ibrox Stadium
15:00	Kent 3' Morelos 13' Worrall  24' Arfield 32',  40'	BBC Report	Smith  15'  55' Dunne  27', 67' Mitchell  43'	Attendance: 49,865 Referee: Beaton

20 October 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	2 – 1	Aberdeen	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Djoum 36' Naismith 43' (Penalty)	BBC Report	Mackay-Steven 55' (Penalty)	Attendance: 18,051 Referee: Clancy

23 October 2018 Scottish Premiership	Dundee	0 – 3	Heart of Midlothian	Dens Park
19:45		BBC Report	Bozanic 2' Naismith 14' MacLean 46'	Attendance: 6,112 Referee: Thomson

31 October 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	0 – 0	Hibernian	Tynecastle Park
19:45		BBC Report	Kamberi  65'	Attendance: 19,410 Referee: Dallas

3 November 2018 Scottish Premiership	Celtic	5 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Celtic Park
15:00	Édouard 18', 39' Benković 26' Forrest 65' Christie 89' (pen.)	BBC Report		Attendance: 58,831 Referee: Beaton

10 November 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	0 – 1	Kilmarnock	Tynecastle Park
15:00		BBC Report	Millen 73'	Attendance: 17,417 Referee: Robertson

24 November 2018 Scottish Premiership	St Mirren	2 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	St Mirren Park
15:00	Hammill 46', 55'	BBC Report		Attendance: 5,177 Referee: Thomson

2 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 2	Rangers	Tynecastle Park
12:00	McAuley 27' (Own goal)	BBC Report	Goldson 35' Morelos 41' Arfield  72'	Attendance: 19,429 Referee: Madden

5 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	St Johnstone	2 – 2	Heart of Midlothian	McDiarmid Park
19:45	Alston 20' Kennedy 69' (pen.)	BBC Report	Djoum 6' Bozanic 41'	Attendance: 3,040 Referee: Dallas

8 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 0	Motherwell	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Haring 14'	BBC Report		Attendance: 15,915 Referee: Collum

14 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	Livingston	5 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Almondvale Stadium
19:45	Menga 76' Halkett 72' (pen.) Hardie 77', 79' Byrne 86'	BBC Report	Djoum  52'  74'	Attendance: 4,201 Referee: Walsh

22 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	Aberdeen	2 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Pittodrie Stadium
15:00	Cosgrove 2', 69' (Penalty)	BBC Report	Mitchell  65'  86'	Attendance: 16,451 Referee: Beaton

26 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	2 – 0	Hamilton Academical	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Naismith 18' Djoum 44'	BBC Report	Want  56'  71'	Attendance: 16,475 Referee: Robertson

29 December 2018 Scottish Premiership	Hibernian	0 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Easter Road
17:30		BBC Report	Lee 28'	Attendance: 20,200 Referee: Clancy

23 January 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 2	Dundee	Tynecastle Park
19:45	Lee 40'	BBC Report	Kusunga 24' Nelson 62'	Attendance: 15,518 Referee: Beaton

26 January 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	2 – 0	St Johnstone	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Godinho 52' Morrison 90+1'	BBC Report		Attendance: 16,672 Referee: Thomson

1 February 2019 Scottish Premiership	Kilmarnock	1 – 2	Heart of Midlothian	Rugby Park
19:45	Jones 45+1' (Penalty)	BBC Report	Clare 38' Naismith 43'	Attendance: 5,552 Referee: McLean

17 February 2019 Scottish Premiership	Motherwell	2 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Fir Park
15:00 GMT (UTC)	Hastie 13' Turnbull 90+3'	Report	Naismith 37' Garuccio  90+2'	Attendance: 5,091 Referee: Walsh

23 February 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 1	St. Mirren	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Dikamona 56'	BBC Report	Clare 66' (Own goal)	Attendance: 16,705 Referee: Robertson

27 February 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 2	Celtic	Tynecastle Park
19:45	Bozanic 56' (Penalty)	BBC Report	Forrest 36' Édouard 90+2'	Attendance: 18,258 Referee: McLean

9 March 2019 Scottish Premiership	Dundee	0 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Dens Park
15:00		BBC Report	Clare 15'	Attendance: 5,667 Referee: Walsh

16 March 2019 Scottish Premiership	Hamilton Academical	1 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	New Douglas Park
15:00	McGowan 36'	Report		Attendance: 2,082 Referee: Collum

30 March 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	2 – 1	Aberdeen	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Clare 59' (Penalty) Ikpeazu 77'	BBC News	McLennan 16'	Attendance: 17,880 Referee: Beaton

3 April 2019 Scottish Premiership	Rangers	3 – 0	Heart of Midlothian	Ibrox Stadium
19:45	Defoe 16' Goldson 21' Arfield 48'	BBC Report		Attendance: 49,702 Referee: Clancy

6 April 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 2	Hibernian	Tynecastle Park
12:30	Haring 25'	BBC Report	Horgan 28', 56'	Attendance: 19,667 Referee: Collum

20 April 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 3	Rangers	Tynecastle Park
12:00	MacLean 74'	BBC Report	Defoe 15' Jack 36' Katić 48'	Attendance: 18,212 Referee: Beaton

28 April 2019 Scottish Premiership	Hibernian	1 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Easter Road
12:15 BST	Berra 69' (o.g.)	BBC Sport	Ikpeazu 84'	Attendance: 19,395 Referee: Thomson

4 May 2019 Scottish Premiership	Heart of Midlothian	0 – 1	Kilmarnock	Tynecastle Park
15:00		BBC Report	Findlay 86'	Attendance: 17,103 Referee: Clancy

10 May 2019 Scottish Premiership	Aberdeen	2 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Pittodrie Stadium
19:45 BST	Ferguson 54' Stewart 77'	BBC Report	Burns 65'	Attendance: 14,371 Referee: Madden

19 May 2019 Scottish Premiership	Celtic	2 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Celtic Park
15:00 BST	Johnston 2', 84'	BBC Report	Mulraney 18'	Referee: Thomson

League Cup

Having not qualified for Europe Hearts entered the League Cup at the group stages. On 25 May, Hearts were drawn in Group C, alongside Cove Rangers, Cowdenbeath, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Raith Rovers. On 18 July 2018, Hearts played Cove Rangers, which marked the first competitive match at Balmoral Stadium. Olly Lee opened the scoring after 11 minutes, before fellow debutante Steven MacLean doubled the advantage in the second half. Cove pulled one back via Paul McManus with 15 minutes remaining, but were unable to equalise. During the 65th minute of the match Andrew Irving entered the field of play, replacing Olly Lee. Irving's contract extension had not been correctly lodged with the Scottish Football Association, rendering him ineligible to play as his registration expired on 9 June. An SPFL disciplinary hearing took place on Monday 23 July, as a result of which Hearts were deducted two points from the group stages and fined £10,000, with £8,000 of the fine suspended until the end of the next season.

Hearts next group match was against Raith Rovers. Kevin Nisbet opened the scoring early in the second half for the home side, before Michael Smith equalised from 25 yards out. In the 90th minute Christophe Berra had a goal disallowed for impeding the keeper, however replays showed the foul was committed by a fellow Raith player. With the sides level at 1–1 penalties were taken, with Hearts taking the bonus point 4–2 on penalties. The group stage was wound up with two 5 – 0 wins at Tynecastle Park against Cowdenbeath and Inverness Caledonian Thistle, with goals from Steven MacLean, Uche Ikpeazu, Peter Haring, Steven Naismith, Michael Smith and Ben Garuccio. The result against Inverness meant Hearts qualified to the Second round on goal difference.

18 July 2018 League Cup Group C	Cove Rangers	1 – 2	Heart of Midlothian	Balmoral Stadium
20:00	McManus 75'	BBC Report	Lee 11' MacLean 57'	Attendance: 1,728 Referee: Walsh

21 July 2018 League Cup Group C	Raith Rovers	1 – 1 (2 – 4 p)	Heart of Midlothian	Bayview Stadium
15:00	Nisbet 51'	SPFL Report	Smith 78'	Attendance: 1,452 Referee: Robertson
	Penalties
	Gillespie Benedictus Matthews Murray		Smith Keena Lee Naismith Souttar

24 July 2018 League Cup Group C	Heart of Midlothian	5 – 0	Cowdenbeath	Tynecastle Park
19:45	MacLean 48' Ikpeazu 64' Haring 73' Naismith 75' (Penalty) Smith 81'		Scott  32'	Attendance: 7,486 Referee: Cook

29 July 2018 League Cup Group C	Heart of Midlothian	5 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Ikpeazu 29', 33' Garuccio 32' Naismith 64', 81'			Attendance: 10,030 Referee: Collum

18 August 2018 League Cup Second round	Dunfermline Athletic	0– 1	Heart of Midlothian	East End Park
15:00		BBC Report	Lee 79'	Attendance: 8,601 Referee: Madden

26 September 2018 League Cup Quarter-final	Heart of Midlothian	4 – 2	Motherwell	Tynecastle Park
19:45	MacLean 35' Haring 64' Lee 88' Naismith 90+1'	BBC Report	Main 12' (Penalty) Bowman 80'	Attendance: 14,377 Referee: Collum

28 October 2018 League Cup Semi-final	Heart of Midlothian	0 – 3	Celtic	Murrayfield Stadium
13:30		BBC Report	Sinclair 53' (pen.) Forrest 66' Christie 72'	Attendance: 61,161 Referee: Collum

Scottish Cup

Heart of Midlothian entered the competition in the fourth round of competition as one of the sixteens teams to enter in this round of the competition. Their first opponent was at Tynecastle Park to Premiership side Livingston where a goal from Sean Clare saw the team win the match 1–0.

In the fifth round they was drawn against Junior club Auchinleck Talbot at home who had knocked out a Championship side in the previous round. The match saw four different goal scorers with Christophe Berra scoring the opener in the tenth minute of play. Two more goals from Demetri Mitchell and Steven MacLean opened the gap to three goals before the break. A goal in the second half from Aidan Keena secured the 4–0 win but not before an injury forced them down to ten men for the final twelve minutes.

The quarter final saw the team travel to Firhill Stadium for the match against Championship side Partick Thistle. After an early goal from Christophe Berra, the team dominated the game with 59% of the possession. The tie though headed into a replay after Christie Elliott scored to level the match in the 72nd minute. The replay at Tyncastle Park saw the away team getting the opening goal in the 17th minute from a Scott McDonald tap to give the championship side the early lead. But a goal from Uche Ikpeazu and the penalty conversation from Sean Clare saw Hearts qualify for the semi-final.

For Hearts, this meant a semi final with another Championship side in Inverness in the first of two matches at Hampden Park. After a lacklustre first half, Uche Ikpeazu broke deadlock for the Hearts in the 49th minute with the shot coming off a deflection. After Jamie McCart goal was deemed offside in the 61st minute, John Souttar doubled the lead only four minutes later. Sean Clarke gave Hearts a 3–0 victory after Ikpeazu was brought down by Mark Ridgers to give a penalty which was converted.

20 January 2019 Scottish Cup Fourth round	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 0	Livingston	Tynecastle Park
14:30	Clare 48'	BBC Report		Attendance: 11,077 Referee: Collum

10 February 2019 Scottish Cup Fifth round	Heart of Midlothian	4 – 0	Auchinleck Talbot	Tynecastle Park
15:00	Berra 10' Mitchell 30' MacLean 38' Keena 86'	BBC Report		Attendance: 14,946 Referee: Clancy

4 March 2019 Scottish Cup Quarter final	Partick Thistle	1 – 1	Heart of Midlothian	Firhill Stadium
19:05	Elliott 72'	BBC Report	Berra 12'	Attendance: 5,171 Referee: Madden

12 March 2019 Scottish Cup Quarter final replay	Heart of Midlothian	2 – 1	Partick Thistle	Firhill Stadium
19:45	Ikpeazu 24' Clare 35' (Penalty)	BBC Report	McDonald 17'	Attendance: 10,351 Referee: Madden

13 April 2019 Scottish Cup Semi final	Heart of Midlothian	3 – 0	Inverness Caledonian Thistle	Hampden Park
12:15	Ikpeazu 49' Souttar 66' Clare 74' (Penalty)	BBC Report		Attendance: 21,011 Referee: Robertson

25 May 2019 Scottish Cup Final	Heart of Midlothian	1 – 2	Celtic	Hampden Park
15:00	Edwards 52'	BBC Report	Edouard 62' (Penalty), 82'	Referee: Collum

First team player statistics

Captains

Christophe Berra continued as captain for season 2018–19, having been re-appointed as captain the previous season. Only six games into the season Berra suffered a torn hamstring at Tynecastle against Celtic, ruling himself out for a period of around 6 months. In his absence three other players were given the opportunity to captain Hearts. Fellow defender John Souttar was initially appointed captain in his absence at the age of 21, however whilst on international duty with Scotland Souttar injured the lining of his hip and was ruled out for five months. With Berra and Souttar injured Steven Naismith took the captain's armband for the first time against Aberdeen on 20 October 2018. Naismith's stint as Captain lasted just three games, as he suffered a tear in the cartilage in his knee during the League Cup Semi-final and was ruled out for a period of six to eight weeks. This led to Peter Haring becoming the fourth player of the season to play as captain.

Berra returned as captain earlier than anticipated on 2 December versus Rangers.

Last updated: 25 May 2019
Source: Competitive match reports.
Competitive matches only
Matches started as captain only
Country: FIFA nationality; No.: Squad number; P: Position; Name: Player name; No. Games: Number of games started as captain.

Squad information

During the 2018–19 season, Hearts have used thirty-five players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.

Last Updated 25 May 2019

Appearances (starts and substitute appearances) and goals include those in Scottish Premiership, League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

Disciplinary record

During the 2018–19 season, Hearts players have been issued with ninety-five yellow cards and five red. The table below shows the number of cards and type shown to each player. In addition striker Steven MacLean accepted a retrospective two match ban for violent conduct against Celtic's Eboue Kouassi in the League Cup. Having gone over the SFA disciplinary points threshold, Steven Naismith served a one-match ban.

A yellow card issued for simulation to Uche Ikpeazu during the game versus Aberdeen on 30 March 2019, was rescinded on appeal.

Last updated 25 May 2019

Number	Position	Nation	Name	Premiership		League Cup		Scottish Cup		Total
1	GK		Zdenek Zlamal	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
2	DF		Michael Smith	7	1	0	0	0	0	7	1
3	DF		Jimmy Dunne	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
4	DF		John Souttar	1	0	1	0	1	0	3	0
5	DF		Peter Haring	7	0	1	0	0	0	8	0
6	DF		Christophe Berra	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
7	MF		Oliver Bozanic	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
8	MF		Olly Lee	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
9	FW		Kyle Lafferty	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
9	MF		Sean Clare	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
10	MF		Arnaud Djoum	13	1	1	0	2	0	16	1
11	DF		Demetri Mitchell	3	1	1	0	1	0	5	1
14	FW		Steven Naismith	8	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
15	FW		Craig Wighton	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
17	DF		Ben Garuccio	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
18	FW		Steven MacLean	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
19	FW		Uche Ikpeazu	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
22	MF		Ryan Edwards	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
23	MF		Jake Mulraney	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
25	MF		Jamie Brandon	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
26	DF		Marcus Godinho	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
28	DF		Clévid Dikamona	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
31	FW		Bobby Burns	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
32	FW		David Vaněček	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
38	MF		Callumn Morrison	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
51	MF		Aaron Hickey	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Total				84	5	6	0	3	0	95	5

Goal scorers

Last updated 25 May 2019

Clean sheets

Team statistics

League table

League Cup table

Division summary

Management statistics

Last updated on 25 May 2019

Home attendances

Last updated on 25 May 2019

  Win   Draw   Loss

Club

Staff

Deaths

The following players and people associated with the club died over the course of the season. Former vice chairman and director Pilmar Smith, 1956 Scottish Cup club captain Freddie Glidden and defender Tommy Darling,

International selection

Over the course of the season a number of the Hearts squad were called up on international duty. John Souttar and Steven Naismith were called up to represent Scotland, Arnaud Djoum to represent Cameroon, Aaron Hughes, Michael Smith and Bobby Burns to represent Northern Ireland, Marcus Godinho to represent Canada, Jimmy Dunne to represent Republic of Ireland and Ben Garuccio to represent Australia.

In addition a number of the Hearts squad were called up to represent Scotland at youth level. Callumn Morrison and Jamie Brandon were called up to the under-21 squad, Morrison was also called up to the under-20 squad, Harry Cochrane and Chris Hamilton to the under-19 squad, Harry Stone, Cammy Logan, Connor Smith and Aaron Hickey to the under-17 squad and Jay Charleston-King and Leo Watson to the under-16 squad. In addition Bobby Burns was called up to represent Northern Ireland at under-21 level.

A War of Two Halves

The interactive play A War of Two Halves was presented at Tynecastle, dealing with the stories of the original 13 players who joined the 16th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Scots. It was first shown as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on 27 August 2018. It ran again in the run-up to the centenary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918.

Awards

Craig Levein and the following players received Scottish Professional Football League awards over the course of the season. The club's annual award ceremony took place on 12 May 2019, with Steven Naismith winning both fans and players player of the year award. The full list of awards are included below.

Transfers

Contract extensions

The following players extended their contracts with the club over the course of the season.

See also

• List of Heart of Midlothian F.C. seasons