Wizard of awe Fuller plays Tin Man

IT’S doubtful when he was growing up in Kingston if Ricardo Fuller ever dreamt of becoming Jamaica’s answer to the Tin Man. According to his Hearts team-mate Steve Fulton, however, the unorthodox striker shares much in common with Ted McMinn, the former Rangers and Derby forward, whose gift for winning football matches was never logged in any coaching manual.

A skilful and imaginative player in his own right - during his time at Celtic the midfielder was burdened with an unhelpful comparison to Italy’s Roberto Baggio - Fulton believes it’s the ability to produce the unexpected in games which has made Fuller such a key element in the Hearts’ revival.

Against Ross County, it was a brace of outstanding individual goals from the striker which secured another home tie for Hearts in the Tennent’s Scottish Cup against Arbroath or Inverness Caledonian Thistle and extended the club’s recent unbeaten run to six games.

"The thing about Ricardo is that you never know what he’s going to do next," admired Fulton, "and in that respect he reminds me of players such as Ted McMinn and Frank McGarvey. Like them he has gangly legs and can look a bit ungainly - but he always comes away with the ball.

"Now Ricardo has his fitness right, he seems to score in every game for us. He’s willing to try things and with the crowd on his side it doesn’t bother him if they don’t always come off."

Although the First Division side defended well for much of this tie and enjoyed excellent service from central defenders Mark Perry and Brian Irvine (former stalwarts with Dundee United and Aberdeen respectively), Fuller was still able to make space for himself and deliver two well-taken second-half goals.

The first came from young Stephen Simmons’ prompt into the box. With the ball on his right foot, the obvious thing for the striker to do was feint outside his marker and attempt an angled shot across goal. Instead Fuller did the opposite. He turned inside the covering defender and with the ball in front of his left boot, whacked a low 16-yard shot into the near corner of the net.

His second was derived from a major error by the team which eliminated Hearts from the CIS Cup when a crossfield pass was intercepted by Fulton. The midfielder had options to find both Gary Wales and Fuller but unsurprisingly opted for the pass to the big man. Once he’d steadied himself, Fuller made Hearts’ place safe in the fourth round with a typically powerful finish past Tony Bullock.

Although Fuller’s exquisite ball control, his eagerness to take men on and determined turn of pace on the hoof are all important aspects of his game, perhaps the forward’s greatest talent is the power and accuracy of his shooting. It’s amazing how many goals you can score - seven in the past six games - when you kick the ball hard and locate the target.

While Hearts lack the financial resources to make the player’s move from Tivoli Gardens permanent, the Jamaican could yet play a part in helping the Edinburgh club to emulate their success in the 1998 Scottish Cup.

Of the team that brought the trophy back to Tynecastle, only Stephane Adam, Thomas Flogel and Fulton, who captained the side against Rangers at Celtic Park, are still on the books.

Naturally cautious about drawing too many parallels between then and now, Fulton remains optimistic about Hearts’ chances if luck favours them this year as it did four seasons past.

"This is a new team compared to the one which won the cup, but of course it would be great to succeed again," added the midfielder.

Although Fulton is enough of an old pro not to underestimate either Arbroath or Inverness, the fact remains Hearts could hardly have faced a more straightforward task in the fourth round if they’d picked the names out of the hat themselves.

Not that overcoming opposition from a lower league on a pitch which resembled porridge was anything other than hard work for Hearts on Saturday. True, the home side started brightly enough, but they lost momentum when Thomas Flogel limped out of the tie with an ankle injury midway through the first-half.

For all that Fuller eventually made the contribution which mattered most after the interval, Craig Levein, the Hearts’ coach, conceded his side were anonymous in attack for long periods of the game.

As was to be expected from a team under Neale Cooper’s charge, Ross County were well organised and took few prisoners in the tackle. Where they fell short, though, was in their own attempts to steal a goal on the break. After a three-week run of bad weather in which his players were unable to train on grass, it was hardly surprising the Dingwall men lacked sharpness in front of goal.

By the time Perry added a consolation goal in the last minute after weariness appeared to get the better of a Hearts side playing what was their fifth game in two weeks, the outcome of the tie was settled.

Still, Ross County, struggling near the foot of the First Division, left Edinburgh with their reputation as bonny cup fighters intact. "I couldn’t fault the players for effort and the result was not an embarrassment," noted Cooper.

Taken from the Scotsman