It was ugly, but Hearts got job done

BARRY ANDERSON
SAY what you will about calamitous Hibs goalkeeping, this match still had to be won. And for Hearts, it really had to be won. They obliged, despite at times playing against 12 men given the performance of referee Kenny Clark, to put a ten-game winless sequence to bed. Where would they be without the priceless Andrius Velicka? For the first time under Stephen Frail's tutelage, the Tynecastle side mastered the art of closing a game out.
It wasn't pretty, in fact downright turgid for most of a nerve-shredding second half, but the confidence that they derived from dumping their city rivals and keeping a first SPL clean sheet since September will be astronomical.

Derby victories seldom arrive with panache and, in front of a live Setanta audience, this was hardly a chest-beating advert for Scottish football. Thing is, Hearts couldn't care less. Prising three points was their sole aim for the afternoon and, with a little assistance from Yves Ma-Kalambay, they prevailed.

The Belgian's 18th-minute fumbling of Velicka's close-range header was the latest in an extensive list of Hibs goalkeeping howlers and probably epitomised the afternoon. It also handed the potent Lithuanian his 12 goal of the campaign.

What was surprising was the visitors' lack of a cutting edge having gone behind. Mixu Paatelainen insisted afterwards his side produced enough chances to secure victory. In truth, it was hard to recall Steve Banks making a noteworthy save.

Ma-Kalambay, on the other hand, had looked confident prior to conceding. He repelled Ruben Palazuelos' deflected shot with an instinctive right-handed save but the same arm appeared to turn to jelly when confronted by Hearts' top goalscorer. From Andy Driver's 18th-minute corner, an aerial joust involving Christophe Berra and Chris Hogg sent the ball towards Velicka six yards out and his header squirmed free of Ma-Kalambay's grasp. Hearts' second-half performance left much to be desired but Frail explained the effect of anxiety when protecting such slender lead.

"I hope we can start to see more games out but you do get nervy and begin to drop deeper," he said.

"The crowd gets nervous and everyone becomes apprehensive. That's the only way to describe it. I was waiting for the lad (John] Rankin's free-kick to get bundled in near the end but it didn't. It's vital (to build on it]. We won but aren't going to sit back and say, 'we've done it, we've turned the corner'. It's a wee step in the right direction again. I think all we can do at the moment is go right back to basics, so we'll take the win.

"Settled might be the right word for us now but I needed to get a reaction out of the players. The second half wasn't pretty but they were all in it for each other and we committed to each other. We held out and the boys were delighted in the dressing-room. It's good to see them smiling.

"They made the difference. That's the spirit we've shown. I thought we played really well in the first half, although not so well in the second. We managed to see it out, keep a clean sheet and get three points."

If Frail was positively crowing about Hearts during the first 45 minutes, one wonders what he might have said privately about Clark. Seconds after scoring, Velicka was penalised and cautioned for diving in the Hibs penalty area when he seemed to be quite clearly impeded by Rob Jones. Moments later, Ian Murray, in the first game of his six-month loan from Norwich City, was late and clumsy with a centre-circle sliding challenge on Ruben Palazuelos but somehow avoided having his name taken.

On 32 minutes, another refereeing mishap. Robbie Neilson and Merouane Zemmama galloped into the Hibs penalty area and, despite being yards away from the ball, the Moroccan leaned into Neilson and forced him to ground. Yet Clark pointed for a goal kick as the ball bounced out of play.

When Abdessallam Benjelloun executed a reckless 39th-minute tackle on Michael Stewart, there was again no card despite several previous offences from the striker. This paper is loathe to repeat itself on any issue but until the begrudging attitude of Scottish officials towards Tynecastle is properly addressed there would appear little option.

On Velicka's penalty claim, Frail said: "You saw it. From where I was there was definitely contact but the referee deemed it not.

"He got booked and that's just the way it has to be at the minute, I'm afraid. You can't appeal simulation and there's been enough said about our players being booked for simulation. If a replay shows there was contact made it proves that, at times, there are genuine penalties and genuine contact.

"Our lad never got it and it's unfair on him because he's now picked up a booking."

Overall, the afternoon ended with positives far outweighing negatives for Frail. Jose Goncalves received something of a roasting from his compatriot Filipe Morais in the opening period but discovered a modicum of composure after the interval.

Palazuelos, Velicka and Berra were Hearts' most outstanding performers, with the latter now evolving as both an inspirational captain and genuine set-piece danger.

Frail continued: "I was always certain he'd grow into the captaincy.

"He's still very young having taken the captaincy on but you don't always have to be leading by being vocal and shouting at people. You can lead by example and Christophe does that in training and in the way he approaches each game.

"He conducts himself well and is a credit. Hopefully, that'll be starting to shine through and
rub off on other people.

"It was maybe a wee bit harsh to take Ruben off, I just wanted to freshen it up. He was great in the first half but they all got a little bit lost in the second half. I wanted to keep Velicka on with the threat he has going forward so that's why I dropped him a bit deeper and put Christian Nade on.

"It was maybe a touch unfair on Ruben but he understands the decision had to be made. The subs all contributed to us not losing a goal."

Michael Stewart was also withdrawn early having vomited on the pitch on more than one occasion. "Must've been the pie he ate at half-time," laughed Frail. In the aftermath of derby victories, jokes are notably easier to come by.

Frail summed up his own feelings: "I'd take playing Hibs every week but it's only three points. You can take a bit of added confidence because it is your rivals, but our players deserved it."

Taken from the Scotsman