As we continue to prepare for our eagerly awaited return to the Premier League, a quicker trip up north was planned after a fruitful vacation to the bright climes of Portugal. Although Tynecastle would not be making any further additions, supporters were eager to watch how the team would ideally continue to gel following some encouraging debuts in the Algarve.
In the preseason, Sunderland frequently makes trips across Hadrian's wall, which serves the dual purposes of being conveniently accessible for both the club and supporters and providing an opportunity to test ourselves against teams that are typically weeks ahead of us in preparation.
Our closest neighbours appear to agree, as Middlesbrough is travelling north on the same day as us to play the other team at the Old Firm, while Newcastle was just humiliated by Celtic. Seeing that on the schedule must have thrilled British Transport Police and LNER.
Fortunately, I was spared the experience of cramming into the Newcastle vestibule and avoiding any encounters with Boro fans travelling in the opposite direction by making the long journey from London to Scotland a weekend trip, spending the night before visiting a friend in Glasgow.
We took the train to Haymarket to join the travelling fans after navigating the tourist crowds on the Royal Mile for a quick ale at the Cannons Gait.
I might understand if this was a politically heated game with a sectarian element, but the mood around the pitch was nothing but pleasant, therefore I felt that it was excessive to ban people wearing football colours at the venue closest to the pub.
In any case, we were able to secure a space at the Athletic Arms, a popular spot among home fans and reportedly owned by a devoted Hibs supporter. I can't think of a worse job than running a hostel for Geordies, but anything gets the job done, I guess.
After Brighton owner Tony Bloom took over, the Hearts made some promising additions and were led by Derek McInness, who appears to have played for every non-Old Firm team you can think of. As a result, the supporters were extremely optimistic about the team's prospects for the following campaign.
It soon became clear that the Jambos' pre-match optimism was warranted after the somewhat strange but well-intentioned substitution ritual honouring Craig Gordon.
Hearts, quite frankly, made us appear like a bunch of strangers who had travelled to Portugal for a stag-do in Albufeira rather than to train in the warm weather.
It felt inevitable when Barga penalised one of these mistakes since Sunderland's players appeared to be vying to see who could throw the ball away the most.
The fact that Sidiki was substituted in the first half and then came back in a rolling sub in the style of 6-a-side in the second half added to the performance's lack of seriousness.
Adingra had some encouraging moments, Diarra played decently at times, and Abdullahi fought hard, but it was difficult to find a Sunderland player who deserved a grade higher than a 6/10, and the equally subpar goals in the closing minutes further soured the atmosphere.
Without intending to make excuses for what was unquestionably a very poor performance, it was evident throughout that Hearts were right at the conclusion of their preparations while we are still dusting off the metaphorical cobwebs.
As a fan base, we must make sure that this loss in a pointless game doesn't ruin the past three months, which have been overwhelmingly positive. We know deep down that with the crazy summer we've had, we will eventually be brought back to reality, but the players and staff have gained our faith, and it is just absurd to entirely rule out new additions based on a few preseason minutes.
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