Bohemians 0 Hearts 1

Jose Quitongo got Hearts' Irish tour off to a flier at Dublin's Dalymount Park yesterday.

The little Angolan brought a smile to the face of boss Jim Jefferies when he bagged the winner on 27 minutes.

Jeff - anxious to get his Scottish Cup winners in shape for the league kick-off on August 1 - said: "The sole objective of a trip like this is to get games under our belts and I thought we won comfortably enough.

"The players worked hard, their attitude was good and they showed some nice touches.

"I thought the new lads who came in performed well."

Steven Pressley, newly captured from Dundee United, and former Twente Enschede star Rob McKinnon made their debuts and did enough to show they will be major players for the Jambos in the new campaign.

But no one worked harder than Stephane Adam who set up the winner with a superb back-heel flick.

Quitongo fastened on to the ball then squeezed it into the far corner of the net past keeper John Donegan.

Seven minutes later Adam was in the thick of it again when he let rip with a 30-yarder which wasn't far off the mark.

Bohemians battled hard without ever causing Hearts real problems.

Six minutes before the break Adam almost made it 2-0 when he got on the end of a Steve Fulton pass and his shot flew inches past.

Just on half-time Hearts missed a glorious opportunity as Adam put Quitongo clear and Donegan was forced to snatch the ball at the striker's feet.

Jefferies made several changes at the break, Ronnie McKenzie coming on for keeper Gilles Rousset, Lee Makel for Thomas Flogel and McKinnon for Gary Naysmith.

Bohemians did have a chance on 49 minutes when Tony O'Connor turned smartly on the edge of the box only to see his shot fly over.

Four minutes later a Pressley cross found Quitongo but he failed to make proper contact with his header and the ball slipped past.

Then the tiny frontman set up Fulton whose shot flew high.

McKenzie won the cheers of the 200 travelling Jambos when he stopped a Graham Lawlor header at his near post.

Hearts are in Ireland minus injured trio Colin Cameron, Dave McPherson and Neil McCann while David Weir is having a break after the World Cup.

Italian Stefano Salvatori missed the game with a foot injury but he hopes to be fit for tomorrow's clash with St Patrick's, Celtic's Euro opponents.




Taken from sportinglife.com