Adam shines in twilight of his career

Dunfermline 1
Hearts 1

Referee: K Clark. Attendance: 5,527

STEPHANE Adam’s 11th-hour equaliser for Hearts at Dunfermline - his first goal for the club since September - almost certainly signalled the beginning of the end of the Frenchman’s career in Scotland.

A mobile and intelligent forward blessed with a rare talent for bringing others into the game as well as a predatory instinct in front of goal, Adam is as deeply immersed in the culture of Hearts as his countryman Franck Sauzee is attached to Hibs.

After diverting Andy Webster’s header past goalkeeper Scott Y Thomson in the third minute of injury time, Adam’s sprint from the pitch into the arms of the Edinburgh club’s travelling support was a sure sign of the striker’s enduring affection for Hearts.

Bedevilled by a series of injuries over the past couple of years, Adam’s exuberant celebration could also be interpreted as an expression of delight at finally returning to something like full fitness.

Scorer of the goal which effectively won Hearts the Scottish Cup in 1998, Adam revealed on Saturday evening how he hopes to play for one more year.

While two clubs have already expressed an interest in recruiting him for next season, nothing would please the forward more than to finish his career at Tynecastle. His preferred option would be to sign a new one-year contract with the Edinburgh club but the Frenchman is enough of a realist to appreciate Hearts’ financial predicament may preclude that happening.

Thomas Flogel, Steve Fulton, Thomas Gronlund and Robert Tomaschek are also out of contract in the summer and while coach Craig Levein would like to keep all of the seasoned professionals currently at his disposal, economic concerns many dictate otherwise. Adam is also aware of the sea change in the way Hearts are being run and applauds the shift to a youth policy which saw Scott Severin, Stephen Simmons, Gary Wales and Webster all involved against Dunfermline. "This may sound strange coming from a Frenchman," he said, "but I’ve always believed there are too many foreign players in Scottish football.

"In France around 20 years ago, the decision was taken to invest in young players and set up academies around the country. The reward for that ambitious project came when France won the World Cup and the European Championship."

As well as enjoying a return to the job he does best, Adam acknowledged there was an emotional dimension to his goal against Dunfermline. "Everyone at Hearts - the players, the supporters, the management - have been very good to me over the past five years and that’s why I’ve always tried to do my very best for them. Things have been difficult with so many injuries over the past two years. All I want to do now is play as much as I can before the end of the season.

Adam felt Hearts were worth their point and his late goal was testament to the spirit of a team anxious to make amends for a poor performance the week before in the Scottish Cup against Inverness Caley Thistle.

Dunfermline had also gone out of the Scottish Cup to First Division opposition at Ayr and were equally motivated to roll up the sleeves an extra tuck.

When Scott M Thomson’s powerful low shot from a clever free-kick took a deflection off Ricardo Fuller and bolted past Antti Niemi, the Fifers just about deserved their lead. Once in front, however, Dunfermline were less expressive and became nervous defending a lead. The same affliction cost them all three points after leading Rangers by two goals last month and is obviously a source of concern for manager Jimmy Calderwood.

Apart from inadvertently helping Thomson’s shot on its way, this wasn’t the cheeriest of afternoons for Fuller, who was booked by referee Kenny Clark for allegedly diving in the box.

Craig Levein, the Hearts’ coach, rued that he has enough of a struggle on his hands to keep the former Tivoli Gardens forward at Tynecastle without the player becoming disillusioned.

He says Fuller is encouraged to run at defenders and shouldn’t be penalised when physical contact brings him down. "I’ve always been a fan of Scottish football and believed our game had a place for entertainers," added the coach. "What we should be doing is protecting those entertainers, not driving them away. Right now Ricardo is sick about what happened and fed up with the way he’s been treated."

Taken from the Scotsman