Hearts maintain European challenge

Jim Reynolds

10 Feb 1997

Hearts.....................2, Kilmarnock................0

IF Hearts defender Paul Ritchie has a favourite team, other than his Tynecastle employers, then, surely, it must be Kilmarnock.

In 60 first-team appearances, he has scored just six goals - and four of them have been against the Ayrshire club.

Last season, he was again on the mark at Rugby Park when Hearts won a Scottish Cup tie and earlier this season, Ritchie grabbed a double when Hearts beat Kilmarnock in the league at Tynecastle.

On Saturday, he struck again to set up a Hearts victory that maintains their challenge for a place in Europe.

''We've still got to play them at Rugby Park before the end of the season,'' said Ritchie.

''I'm really looking forward to going there.

It's just one of those things.

I seem to keep scoring against them.'' Kilmarnock should have been ahead before Ritchie found the target.

French goalkeeper Gilles Rousset made a magnificent point-blank save from Jim McIntyre, and Mark Reilly had agonisingly watched his free kick beat Rousset only to hit the inside of a post then roll along the goal line.

Hearts took full advantage.

With the wind swirling and making things awkward for the players, they took the lead after 23 minutes.

A Neil McCann corner was only partially cleared and Ritchie scored with a spectacular volley from just inside the penalty box.

He said: ''It wasn't part of the plan for me to go up for corners, but at that one there were no Kilmarnock players in our area, so I thought I'd give it a go.'' There were certainly no complaints from Hearts manager Jim Jefferies about his wandering defender.

Indeed, he was delighted with his side's performance which was topped with a magnificent second goal, from Neil McCann after 70 minutes.

Jefferies even managed a smile when he talked about Colin Cameron, who had the kind of match he would like to forget.

''Colin had one of those days,'' said the Hearts manager.

''He hardly passed the ball to a Hearts player all afternoon and missed a couple of good chances.

''I felt sorry for the lad, because he works so hard.

When he does have an off-day people notice, because he is not one to hide - he's always looking for the ball.

What he needs is a goal to lift his confidence.'' In the end, Hearts were well worth their win.

They missed striker John Robertson, who is closing in on Jimmy Wardhaugh's club scoring record, because of a groin injury, but compensated for this by moving McCann to a role through the middle and the former Dundee winger had an outstanding match, apart from his goal.

Said McCann: ''I really like playing up front, because it gets me more involved.

It was always going to be a difficult match for us and it was very important that we won.

I would rate that goal as one of the best I have scored.

''We now play Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Monday and this result gives us a bit of confidence.

Aberdeen gave us a bit of a doing the last time we were there, so we are all determined to make amends this time.'' Kilmarnock now find themselves in the play-off position in second-bottom place and manager Bobby Williamson has a job on his hands to lift the side.

Maybe a break from the grind of the league will help when they travel to Broadwood to meet Clyde in the Scottish Cup next weekend, but they must brace themselves for a battle during the run-in to the end of the season.

Said Williamson: ''It's important that you get the first goal when your in our position, and we should have been ahead against Hearts.

Had Mark Reilly's free kick gone in, it might have been different.

''But we can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves.

I'm a great believer in thinking that if you work hard enough you will get a just reward, so we'll work away, hoping our luck will change.'' Meanwhile, Hearts will give Robertson every chance to get himself fit for tonight's match at Aberdeen.

He failed a fitness test shortly before Saturday's match, and manager Jefferies said: ''He was about 75% fit and maybe next Sunday's cup tie against Dundee United is a more realistic target, but we will wait to see how he is in the morning.'' Next league matches: Hearts - Aberdeen (a).

Kilmarnock - Dundee United (h).

HIGHLIGHT THE goal from Neil McCann that clinched the points for Hearts.

The youngster has scored several spectacular goals in his career, but he rates this as one of the best.

McCann took a long pass and made a powerful run through the middle before cutting inside a defender to thunder a drive in off the underside of the bar.

That effectively killed off any chance Kilmarnock had of taking anything from the match.

Taken from the Herald