What were you doing at 16? Are you preparing for exams? Do you dream of asking that guy / girl you like? Being completely wasted on bottles of cheap cider in the local park and thanking your lucky stars for not being born in the age of camera phones?
There is one thing you definitely weren’t doing, that is from a Scottish Cup final
This is the situation Aaron Hickey found himself in as Hearts prepared for his Hampden 2019 clash with Celtic Although he only appeared two games before the game, his first start against the same team the week before he was reckoned to help give his club the best chance of winning football’s oldest trophy From an individual point of view, things could hardly have been better
He is often credited with James Forrest, Player of the Year for the 2018/19 season, firmly in his back pocket during Hampden’s centerpiece This assessment is not quite accurate Forrest had a very calm, but this was mainly due to the winger playing in a weirdly passive way He only tried once to take Hickey off the wing and actually took the upper hand on the full-back, whipping up a poor cross that Christophe Berra easily cleared For some reason he didn’t try the rest of the game again
Although Hickey lost this brief battle, he undoubtedly won the war against the Scotland international Simply, Forrest was poor and Hickey was definitely not
To say he was absolutely unsurprised by the gravity of it all would be an understatement There were barely 90 seconds left on the clock before trying to dribble past Celtic captain Scott Brown His most impressive moment came in the 16th minute After trying his luck from a distance, he sprinted to stop Scott Bain’s attempt to free Forrest on the right Hickey caught the ball, intercepted it and then turned away from his man to launch another attack
« Aaron Hickey has had a very good season, which culminated in coming off the bench against Aberdeen and then starting at Celtic Park last week, » coach Craig Levein said ahead of the game « In these two games he was unfazed and I was really impressed with his composure »
He also played an important role in Hearts opening the scoring, playing the pass to Arnaud Djoum on the edge of the penalty area It wasn’t just a five-yard ball either He had to move away from attentions by Mikael Lustig before separating two defenders with the pass for the Cameroonian international
In the end, Hearts would lose the match due to a combination of poor refereeing, with Peter Haring getting injured and the team failing to keep their cool after going past it, but fans raved Hickey long into the night
Speaking about his own performance after the game, the youngster said: « It gives me confidence but still I have to keep my head down, work every day in training and in the gym to get bigger and stronger »
It was the perfect attitude to have and exactly what he took in the next campaign He was significantly taller when the clubs returned for the Betfred Cup campaign two months later and ready to face the physical rigors of regular first-team football
As impressive as the Cup’s final performance was, last season arguably was even more so At least Hearts performed with a high level of skill in the Finals Last season was an eight-month physical comedy performance in assorted brown tops Fans often clamor that young players have a chance when they see their team in trouble, while managers will urge caution about the possibility that they could ruin a young player’s confidence by throwing them away in an environment in which they are unable to thrive
Hickey not only managed to avoid being dragged into the deepest levels of football misery by his teammates, but he was able to stand out as their second best player during the campaign behind Michael Smith In the future he could be a little hesitant at times – he has to learn ‘a move’ to pass opposing defenders with the ball at his feet – but defensively he played like someone ten years his senior
Even though his time in Hearts’ first team has been relatively short compared to other talent who has come through the academy over the past decade – Callum Paterson being the brightest light since 2010 – he has still managed to fit into Tynecastle folklore with a derby winner at Easter Road, not to mention an assist and great performance in the 3-1 win on the same pitch later in the season
Even in matches where he struggled at the start, he came back stronger in 90 minutes The 1-1 draws at home with Rangers and Motherwell are two examples. In the first case, he was responsible for the opener; the latter troubled by the strength and pace of the outside wingers In every game he rebounded to have solid second half He did not dwell on his shortcomings in the first half He seems to have no short-term memory; a very useful trait for a defender
Now 18, moving to a foreign country, different culture, new style of play, teammates, coaches, it’s going to be very hard for him But given his strengths – short memory, poise, technical ability – and the tests he had already passed with flying colors, you would not go back against his passage in Italy which is a resounding success
Heart of Midlothian FC, Hibernien FC, Celtique FC
World News – GB – The moment Aaron Hickey became the most exciting Hearts prospect in years
