Dons have still to find right balance

JAMES TRAYNOR

6 Dec 1993

WILLIE Miller spoke about searching for the proper balance.

Anyone whose senses have not yet been pummelled into submission and who can still take pleasure from watching good players go about their business, regardless of the colour of their jerseys, must hope he finds it soon.

Aberdeen own a collection of decent footballers, and one or two who threaten to extract themselves from the mediocre and rise to the exceptional, but these days they are not doing what comes naturally.

If Miller says he is looking for a balance then it is safe to assume that currently the equilibrium is askew.

That must be it, then.

Aberdeen's faltering cannot be put down to the sort of fear which numbed Brian Grant's brain when he found himself in possession inside his own box after only five minutes and turned inexplicably towards his own keeper.

The self doubt which appeared to beset them last midweek at Ibrox also must be ruled out.

Perhaps it is a badly-balanced side, or maybe the mentality of the side makes it appear so, but whatever is going wrong Miller must act swiftly.

Otherwise Aberdeen will find themselves left behind with their championship aspirations at their ankles.

Frankly, they do not look anything like the part, and only one away win in the league so far this season proves they are not fired by the stuff that makes winners.

They were fortunate to escape Tynecastle with a point and would not have done so had Hearts' defence maintained concentration instead of allowing a gap to appear in front of Nicky Walker, who had little to do until the lapse 15 minutes from time.

Robert Connor and Eoin Jess were allowed to manufacture an opportunity, and when the ball fell to Duncan Shearer he had only to overcome his surprise at having been left unattended.

He scored, of course, and although Hearts pushed hard towards the end for a second goal they had to make do with one point when they ought to have had both.

Shearer, incidentally, must be one of the most frustrated players in the country right now.

He is finding it difficult to hold his place in the front line.

He may not be everyone's idea of a genuine player, but when it comes to scoring Shearer seems to have the formula from which the likes of Ally McCoist and Mark Hateley work.

Shearer's contribution at Tynecastle was his thirteenth goal of the season and he is Aberdeen's highest scorer.

Yet he flits between the front line and the substitutes' bench.

He is big and awkward.

Maybe he lacks balance.

Hearts finished much the stronger and more positive side.

They had a few good chances towards the end when Aberdeen's defence lived dangerously and Brian Irvine appeared to have lost the pace of the game.

Irvine, in fact, was one of seven players booked in a match which may have been untidy and hard on the eye but which was rarely the violent spectacle the statistics will make it seem.

It will be recorded that Gary Smith was sent off, and the Aberdeen defender could hardly be described as a Billy Bremner.

He is a quiet sort, and his caution early in the second half, for a foul on the erratic Kevin Thomas, was soft.

Seven minutes from time he and Maurice Johnston collided off the ball and the linesman asked for an audience with the referee.

Seconds later Johnston was booked, for no apparent reason, and Smith was heading for the dressing room.

The youngster might soon require counselling before playing at Tynecastle because bad things happen to him there.

When he made his first-team debut for Aberdeen on November 1991 he was sent off, and his latest dismissal will cause Miller some anxiety before tomorrow night's match against Raith Rovers.

Stewart McKimmie is still injured and unavailable.

But enough of Aberdeen.

The Tynecastle side deserve mention if only to record that their manager, Sandy Clark, is not above admitting that he is still learning.

He had been criticised heavily for the manner in which his team were playing -- many felt Hearts were too negative -- and has altered the system.

He is now playing three men up front.

It is much more potent and had John Colquhoun not been injured scoring the opening goal Hearts would probably have won.

Colquhoun took advantage of Grant's early aberration and put Hearts in front, but as he sent the ball into the net he felt a kick on a hip.

He tried to continue, but couldn't, and his place was taken by another of Clark's bright young players, Alan Johnston.

The newcomer was out of touch and never managed to settle into the game.

"Losing John was a pity because I thought the balance of the team was affected after he had gone," said Clark, who was beginning to sound like Miller.

Fortunately for Hearts, Colquhoun is a quick healer and has a slight chance of playing against Motherwell at Tynecastle on Wednesday night.

Taken from the Herald