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<-Srce <-Type Scotsman ------ Report Type-> Srce->
Jim Jefferies 2nd <-auth Barry Anderson auth-> William Collum
----- Derek George Riordan
6 of 009 David Templeton 19 ;Stephen Elliott 67L SPL A


Temps' goal gets Hearts racing

Published Date: 08 November 2010

By BARRY ANDERSON

THERE have been the likes of Wayne Foster, Phil Stamp, Graham Weir, Paul Hartley and, of course, John Robertson. Now David Templeton's name is added to Hearts' list of Edinburgh derby heroes.

He tormented Hibernian in May and followed up with an outrageous solo goal yesterday in another man-of-the-match performance at Easter Road.

To be blunt, the opposition had no answer to such tantalising wing play. They simply could not counteractTempleton's direct running, trickery and ability to scamper clear of markers with astounding ease. From a wide-left beat, he frequently ventured inside to cause havoc amongst Hibernian's defensive ranks, exemplified by the opening goal. His overall contribution was the catalyst for a comfortable Hearts victory.

Templeton collected a deliberate header from Ruben Palazuelos just inside the Hibs half on 19 minutes. He turned with the ball, accelerated clear of both Daniel Galbraith and Liam Miller, then veered inside to elude Michael Hart, Sol Bamba and Paul Hanlon before slotting calmly beyond goalkeeper Mark Brown with his right foot. With five opponents left trailing in his wake, the goal was already written into Edinburgh derby folklore. He was entitled to celebrate.

Like Hartley and Robertson before him, Hibernian will surely dread Templeton's presence next time they encounter Hearts. He is fast developing into a personal demon for those employed at Easter Road, and fully intends the nightmare continuing.

"I've dreamt about scoring a goal like that all the time. I think about it before games hoping I'll get a chance like that, but you never think you will to be honest," he said. "I turned and started running and everything opened up. Stephen Elliott made a great run to take one centre-half away on the 18-yard box and I managed to slot it away.

"Last year was the best feeling when I set up the winner, but that was ten times better. I thought we were excellent overall. We worked hard and didn't give them time on the ball. They resorted to playing long balls. I think them not being as good was down to us."

Stephen Elliott scored Hearts' second on 67 minutes after Templeton had beaten a pedestrian Michael Hart to Kevin Kyle's headed knockdown. Thereafter, Hibee frustration manifested itself in several different forms.

Visiting supporters were culpable for stupidly launching flares onto the pitch in an idiotic form of celebration after the opening goal. And, when it became clear the game was beyond Hibs, their fans in the new East Stand resorted to throwing missiles at Hearts players. Both clubs now face SFA sanctions.

The hosts also witnessed their captain, Derek Riordan, dismissed two minutesfrom time by referee William Collum for a knee-high tackle on Rudi Skacel. He seemed to take exception after the Czech attempted to prove Hib's guilt by showing Collum one of the missiles close up. It was a sorry way to end the afternoon and perhaps a perfect illustration of why Riordan is not captain material and never will be.

"I missed the red card because I was inside icing my leg but I heard all the fans," added Templeton. "I went out to see what had happened and I heard it was a bad tackle from Riordan. I think it probably was down to frustration because it was 2-0 at the time, near the end of the game and we had been playing so well."

Kevin Kyle bore the brunt of the missiles. He went to collect the ball from the East Stand on 77 minutes and was struck by an object thrown by a fan. He threw the ball against the advertising boards in frustration and was promptly booked by Collum.

"The big man always seems to be in the wars. Every game he comes off with a cut but you get used to that. It's nothing new to him," added Templeton. "I didn't see the missiles. I heard a couple just missed Kev but I'd been fouled so I missed it all. I'd been told about it so I was aware of it.

"This is a massive result for us. It will just give everyone a lot of confidence.

"Hopefully we can take it into Wednesday night [against Celtic] and get a good home result, which we haven't had so far. Third place is definitely the target. I think we've got a good enough squad. If we sort our home form we'll definitely be up there."

It takes a brave man to field three forwards away from home in a derby but Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, does 'bolshy' rather well when facing Hibernian. He deployed Hearts in a 4-3-3 formation, with Skacel sitting just ahead of Adrian Mrowiec and Ian Black in midfield. It was another key issue in the final outcome.

"Last week we let people down and let ourselves down [against Kilmarnock]," said the manager.

"The only way to make up for it was to get out and show what we're about. We know what a derby's going to be, especially the first one of the season. It was very competitive and frantic at the start but you could see Hearts were well up for it.

"Our team-talks in the days before the game were all about winning individual battles. We set up 4-3-3 and I knew if we won more battles we'd come out on top. I thought Black and Mrowiec did the dirty work in midfield and stopped their two getting forward. The key for me was Liam Miller sitting that wee bit deeper, trying to get on the ball and play passes but never getting and opportunity.

Skacel was on him all the time and then Skacel caused him problems breaking away from him.

"Stephen Elliott had a tough job playing in that [right] channel and then getting out to the full-back. Jonathan Grounds got away a couple of times but wegot it sorted out and Eliott's tracking back for the team was excellent. He had a fantastic debut and capped it with a goal.

"We didn't have any passengers. Last week we didn't have any players, this week we didn't have any passengers and we said that to them at full-time. It just shows you if you apply yourself right, if you've got the ability, tenacity, the grit and determination then you will win matches. That's what you need in the SPL."

Having a creative talent of Templeton's calibre helps a fair bit, though.

"We always teach him to be positive. Suso's been in fine form but he was carrying a little bit of a knock so, with the game on Wednesday, we decided to leave him out. Temps was given the job of getting at people out wide. That's all we told him: Get at people. He's got great feet, a good change of pace, great skill and he can finish.

"The goal was every one of those things put together. He ran away from them, showed good close control, good skill and, at the end of the day, he had the talent to go and finish it as well."

Another recipient of Jefferies' praise was Kyle, whose physical presence was a problem for Hibs all afternoon. "I think that was his best game since coming back to Scotland," said the manager. "I'll tell you why: He wasn't in the team. I had a wee word with him, he knows I wasn't happy with him over the last couple of weeks. I told him why, but I always felt as the week went by in training that he knew that.

"He was putting that little bit more into training and he's come up with the best game I've ever seen. Maybe a wee bit of man management there. I told him I wanted to see him during the week and he kept asking me when. I kept delaying it and he was starting to panic. He came up to see me and we had a talk about it. I said to him not to let me down and he certainly didn't."

No-one in maroon gave a sub-standard performance, ensuring a rousing victory for Hearts which will forever be remembered for that fabulous David Templeton moment.



Taken from the Scotsman




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