Johnston enjoys 'frantic' return

IAN PAUL

25 Oct 1993

WILLIE Jamieson had him in his pocket.

So said John Lambie, the Partick Thistle manager, as he discussed the return of Maurice Johnston to Firhill, albeit in a Hearts shirt.

Maybe it was a wee bit hyperbole, although by Lambie standards that was a mild exaggeration, an understandable appreciation of his own player's performance and on that basis justified.

Johnston was no superstar in his new jersey, but he would need to have been Superman to be able to produce that kind of display after wallowing in reserve, even third-team, football with Everton.

He was exhausted by the end of a premier division match that had little going for it except excessive energy.

It always looked as if a goal was going to be a bonus beyond the reach of the toiling troops, who gave the ball a hell of a beating.

But in terms of giving Johnston a work-out, it served that purpose.

Johnston looks well, maybe even slimmer than when he left, and the willingness to search for the ball, and use it well at speed, is still there.

It is bound to take a bit longer to recover that predatory instinct inside the penalty box, but that is what the fans of Hearts, who are paying him a reputed £3000 a week, will be expecting.

Certainly, the man watching in the stand, chairman Wallace Mercer, would anticipate a return of that goal-scoring talent for his outlay.

Johnston himself was satisfied with his start.

"I thought I lasted well," he said.

"The premier division is just as I left it two years ago, frantic, and I am exhausted.

But I believe I can fit into this side.

"I felt no special pressure.

If I had come here for a big transfer fee it might have been different, but I came on a free transfer and can walk away any time I like.

I am happy to oblige Hearts with my services."

When he starts knocking in the goals that might well be greatly appreciated.

However, even Johnston, who has never been one to hide on the park, needs help and the sooner John Robertson is in there alongside him the better the prospects of a revival in Hearts' fortunes.

They were the better team in the first half at Firhill, as Thistle were the better in the second period, but the comparisons are relative.

Neither was within shouting distance of being a good team.

Maybe the bumpy park was a contributor, but there were times when the lads looked as if they were playing on a bouncy castle.

The ball would not stay on the ground, nor would it pay any attention to the ministrations of feet.

If anybody made a pass it must have been at the tea lady.

Effort and honest energy earned each side a point and it could be said that a couple of fine saves by each keeper prevented goals, but it was not the kind of contest which deserved the accolade of a scoreline.

Hearts manager Sandy Clark was right to consider a draw a fair result, and he was entitled to be content with Johnston's first attempt.

"He is obviously not match fit, but I am sure when he gets his sharpness back he will do us a job."

The manager might have been keen to see the new man and Robertson together, but was prevented from trying the partnership because of injury to Robertson.

"John played after being given an injection last week," he said, "but I am not keen on that and I didn't think it would be fair to him to do that again."

Perhaps the two most rewarding sights for Clark were the displays of keeper Nicky Walker, who has been consistently good since he took over from Henry Smith, and Craig Levein.

Levein was making an astonishingly quick return following an operation on a fractured cheekbone, suffered in a collision with Smith during the UEFA Cup match in Madrid three and half weeks ago, but made it look easy.

He and John Colquhoun were by far the best Hearts outfield players and Levein at times did his best to give the attack some of the much needed assistance that was not coming from midfield.

Thistle's keeper, Craig Nelson, also was in inspiring form, particularly with one marvellous touch on to the bar from a Colquhoun effort, and in the second half their whole team seemed to be suddenly convinced that victory was well within their grasp.

They were never quite subtle enough to find a way past the well marshalled Tynecastle defence but, considering what resources he has been able to use, Lambie has fashioned a workmanlike side that has to be properly tamed before it will concede defeat.

Hearts were never up to that task, like a few others who have tried since the Firhill men moved into the supposedly higher echelons.

It is Thistle's fifth game in a row without defeat and leaves them tidily placed in the middle of the table.

The league is still quite a hotchpotch, however, and much hard graft will be required to keep away from the lower region.

There are only nine points between leaders Hibs and bottom club Dundee.

Taken from the Herald