Ill wind leaves Rix in an 'ugly' mood

GRAHAM Rix fell into a classic Scottish football trap on Saturday. In conceding defeat to the Highlands' natural defences he resembled an early settler gazing at an inhospitable coastline through his telescope and declaring: "No. We can't do anything here."

The Moray Firth is no place for football on days like these, according to the Hearts coach. "Ask any footballer: the worst conditions you can play in is wind," Rix said after his forewarning that this would be an "ugly match" turned into the understatement of the year.

Championship-winning sides are distinguished from the rest by their tedious ability to win - any place, any time, any weather. The end result of three points consigns to irrelevance the hazards they encountered along the way.

In Martin O'Neill's first season at Celtic, his team travelled midweek to face St Johnstone on a pitch that became so waterlogged the ball could not move unaided along the grass. Through a defender's header and a late penalty the visitors, by hook or by crook, got the job done.

Some sympathy is appropriate for Rix. His full-back, Takis Fyssas, said this was the first time in his career he had been asked to play football in a wind tunnel. In such an embryonic, multinational side he would surely not have been alone. But it did seem odd that Rix correctly called how the contest would go, yet put nothing in place in terms of strategy to overcome the gales.

Inverness, through familiarity, are naturally better equipped than the Edinburgh side to deal with the frustration of fresh-air swipes and clearances that go backwards. Yet they did place more emphasis than Hearts on keeping the ball on the ground. Richie Hart and Ian Black were given far more opportunities to take a touch and pass than their bypassed counterparts, Paul Hartley and Bruno Aguiar. Hence why Craig Gordon found it far easier to keep warm than Mark Brown, whose involvement ended as soon as the Inverness defence had got over their early jitters.

In many instances on Saturday the ground solution was not a realistic one, but in some cases - a free-kick in the centre circle, for example - Hearts betrayed a complete abandonment of their usual methodology. Andy Webster took one such set-piece early in the second half and floated it submissively into the air, where it hung benignly before being cleared.

When games degenerate like this, it is because players go from being emboldened by the chase for goals to being consumed by their fear of making mistakes. Aim and accuracy are shelved in favour of trying one's luck. The element of surprise is lost. Possession is treated like an infected rat.

As pressmen later squeezed into a doorway to hear Rix's response to a draw that flattered his side, the manager conveyed his unhappiness with shrugs and grimaces. "It's impossible to play football, impossible. You kick it and squeeze up, long throws ... I said before the game it would be an ugly match and that was proved to be right.

"I'm disappointed because we want to win every game. But the ball's bouncing up over your head and swirling ... I thought our attitude was good, we worked hard to the end and I couldn't ask any more really. A battling performance, that's what it was. Barcelona out there wouldn't have been able to play football."

Caley Thistle coach Charlie Christie begged to differ. Not that he could claim his players had been part of any spectacle, but he was proud of their display nonetheless. "I would be very surprised if anyone in the stadium didn't agree that we dominated the game from start to finish, especially in the second half," Christie said.

"The conditions had an effect on the game, to be honest, but as we were dominating the second half Hearts started to go very deep, and I think they became happy to go for the point. After the Fyssas header after three or four minutes we never looked like losing a goal."

Should Hearts succeed in their quest for a Champions League place, they might undertake journeys that take less time to complete than this one. But it's unlikely they will be able to get away with a performance so limp and inflexible. The standards of old, on which basis Hearts deserved the healthy ovation they got from their travelling support for coming away from the Moray Firth with a point, no longer apply when your owner buys 11 players in one transfer window.

Rix insisted he didn't want to "have a go" at his team, which suggested that secretly he did. Playing down the absence of two key creative players and his defensive marshal, whom he said could not have altered the nature of this forgettable venture, he looked forward to a more refined meeting with Rangers next Sunday.

"I just hope there is no wind at Tynecastle so we can play a bit of football," he added.

It's true that the contemporary, cultured version of the game was not on show here, but to say there was no football played was harsh on those whose game has evolved in line with the climate. Darren Dods knows only one way to play: sprint back and forth, bark orders, maintain the line, time your jumps and tackles and take no prisoners. The big centre-half was, quite literally, in his element here. Just like on that soaking night in Perth five years ago.

Taken from the Scotsman