Hearts vs Auchinleck Talbot Predictions

Auchinleck Talbot currently play in West of Scotland Super League Premier Division and are really heavyweights of the junior game. They have won the league four times since 2012 and showed every inch of their quality in the previous round of the cup when they stunned Championship side Ayr United at their home stadium Beechwood Park. It was a magnificent affair as much of the town’s population turned out for the match which was made all the more sweeter by Craig McCracken’s 78th minute winner. They went into that match in flying form as they sit 3rd in the league and this has continued since.

Their scoring prowess in the league is unmatched as they have scored a whopping 37 goals in their last eleven matches. Auchinleck had to approach their match against Ayr with a bit more pragmatism, as manager Tommy Sloan said in his post-match interview, but with them scoring for fun in the junior divisions, they will back themselves to do it again against Hearts. 

However, as much as the Ayr victory was exciting and a great moment for the club, Hearts are a class above with them very much a contender for the Premiership title, so Auchinleck have their work cut out for them. 

After a scare towards the end of 2018, Craig Levein’s men have bounced back with some more impressive victories recently as they have beaten the likes of St. Johnstone and Kilmarnock in recent weeks. They have shown they aren’t invincible as they were beaten by relegation-relegation-favourites Dundee just a few weeks ago but with this match at Tynecastle where they have only lost one of their last six matches, we’re backing the Jambos to progress to the next round here. 

Even though Auchinleck won the last clash with Ayr United, they were severely on the back foot for much of the match as they had just 38% of the possession and conceded seven shots on target compared to their single header. However, we think they should get on the scoresheet as they beat Cove Rangers earlier in the cup 2-1, a team that Hearts could only scrape past in the league cup group stage (2-1). Auchinleck have also just been so impressive on the attack and with Hearts probably set to field a slightly weaker team, we’ll back the junior side to score in what we’re expecting will ultimately be a 3-1 win for the Edinburgh club.