The piercing sound of the pipes echoed around Tynecastle. They were followed by the Last Post. The stadium fell silent to honour those who fell in The Great War.
Fans of London club Leyton Orient and Hearts joined together, the bond having been forged in the early part of the 1914 to 1918 conflict when a group of players from each team responded to Lord Kitchener’s call for volunteers to form a new army.
This army was designed to support the nation’s regular force which had suffered heavy casualties. Professional footballers who took up arms inspired fans to do the same.
Players from Leyton Orient and Hearts helped lead the way. Sadly, thee Orient players and the same number of Hearts footballers were killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
To this day, both teams remain united in respect and remembrance and Saturday’s match paid fitting tribute to the fallen and the ceremony was part of the Tynecastle club’s 150th anniversary initiatives.
Earlier, fans from both teams joined a march from the War Memorial at Haymarket to the ground led by 150 pipers and drummers along the so-called Maroon Mile, and hundreds ringed the Festival Plaza at McLeod Street to hear the pipes and drums which included the Tynecastle High Pipe Band.
Supporters were lead “expect a feast of football on the pitch” but that failed to materialise. Orient went hope the happier and Hearts fans had little to enthuse over apart from a well-taken goal by Liam Boyce after a defensive slip in the first half. Orient bagged two goals to edge the Jambos overall.
Fans, however, were given the chance to see three of the club’s new signings, Musa Drammeh, Daniel Oyegoke and Blair Spittal, and the Men in Maroon dominated early proceedings.
Boyce’s goal after nine minutes was their reward but the visitors, with former Manchester United squad player, Ethan Galbraith, a Northern Ireland international, influential in midfield, demanding the ball, taking up good positions, covering a lot of ground and always looking for a pass, proving, a stand-out.
It was Jordan Brown who provided the finishing touch from Orient’s first corner after 23 minutes, rising high to nod past home skipper Craig Gordon, and the Londoners added to their tally with a second in the first minute after the re-start.
Diallang Jaiyesimi did the damage with his first touch after coming on as a substitute, sending a rebound home, and then Hearts’ substitute goalkeeper Ryan Fulton produced the save of the match, diving to finger-tip a Darren Pratley header for a corner, to keeping the eager visitors out and keeping Hearts in the game.
They were, however, unable to find a way back, despite head coach, Steven Naismith, ringing the changes, including the introduction of midfielder Yan Dhanda. The ex-Ross County man showed some neat touches and was keen to move the team forward, but Hearts go back to the training ground ahead of their glamour friendly with Premiership heavyweights, Tottenham Hotspur, on Wednesday.
Fans are reminded that the kick-off against Ange Postecoglou’s men is 7pm, yes 7pm. So, what did Naismith learn? He told the post-match media briefing: “It was a good test. I said before the game that they could cause us problems in the way they played, and they did.”
It is pre-season, he argued, and the sharpness was not there. Naismith felt both sides could have scored more goals but it was about logging minutes in the legs.
He said: “It is about looking forward and some of the younger boys had a chance to stake a claim and make the squad.”
PICTURE: Tynecastle falls silent in honour of the fallen and below fans crowd into the Festival Plaza to watch the bands. Pictures by Nigel Duncan
ATTENTION: Pipes and drums watched by hundreds on Festival Plaza ahead of the match with Leyton Orient. Picture Nigel Duncan
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