Heart's spirit proves Adam sight better

HAD Hearts shown the same attitude against Inverness Caley Thistle which eventually saw them rescue a point from Saturday’s clash with Dunfermline, there is every chance the Gorgie outfit would be enjoying the prospect of a quarter-final tie in the Scottish Cup.

The Jambos slumped to defeat against the First Division minnows after a terrible display at Tynecastle saw them outfought by the Highlanders.

It was an embarrassing blot on the club’s cup history and left boss Craig Levein demanding a huge improvement for the trip to East End Park.

To their credit, the players responded in positive fashion and although they left it late to secure a draw, the share of the spoils was no more than they deserved.

It was important for Levein’s outfit to get back on the rails having gone into Saturday’s clash on the back of three defeats.

Although dis-appointed by the losses at Livingston and Celtic, Levein could not fault his players’ performances on either occasion. The same could not be said for the meeting with Inverness, but the grit and application which were so sadly lacking in the cup tie was back in abundance at East End Park.

The sight of fourth official Garry Mitchell signalling four minutes of stoppage time brought howls of derision from the Dunfermline fans who were poised to acclaim a
hard-fought victory.

They had seen their team take a second-half lead through Scott Thomson and looked on course for an important three points after repelling a spirited Hearts fightback.

Just where the extra time came from in a match which had few stoppages of note is debatable. But there is no doubt it gave the Jambos just a glimmer of hope that they could snatch something from the clash.

And with one final push, the men in maroon duly salvaged a share of the spoils with substitute Stephane Adam stabbing home a dramatic leveller. Although there has to be a degree of good fortune for a team to snatch an equaliser in the
94th minute of any game, few could argue that the visitors didn’t deserve some reward for stubbornly refusing to give up.

If ever there was a case of playing until the final whistle, whether that may come in the 90th minute or not, Saturday was a prime example.
Champions Celtic have shown an uncanny knack this season of grabbing late goals to sicken their opponents.

This is in no small way down to the work ethic and spirit which Martin O’Neill has instilled in his side.
And the same can also be said for Levein at Tynecastle, the Gorgie chief demanding that his players strain every sinew for the cause.
Although Saturday’s result meant two points lost and their bid to catch Livingston in third place suffering a huge blow, it still must have felt like a win for the Jambos as they headed back across the Forth.

“It is always a better point when you score in the last minute of a match,” said Levein"

“But I thought we deserved it as we had played particularly well in the second half."

“We may have left it late, but we were value for a draw."

“We kept going after falling behind and created opportunities. Adam’s goal was a typical effort from a quality striker.”

Home boss Jimmy Calderwood claimed his side had been “robbed” by Adam’s late, late strike, but it was the visitors who created the game’s best chances with Scott Thomson by far the busier of the two keepers.

Gary Wales should have had Hearts ahead after just six minutes when he dragged a shot wide from an excellent position, then Steven Pressley saw his back-post header saved on the line.

Dunfermline’s Mikael Panopoulus should have done better than head wide from eight yards out just after the half-hour mark and then defender Thomson cleared magnificently off his line to deny a subdued Ricardo Fuller before the interval.

It was the only time the striker managed to get in behind the Pars back line, although he was later harshly yellow-carded for a dive by Kenny Clark, a decision which left Levein fuming and claiming strikers need more protection from officials.
“Ricardo is a big, strong lad who doesn’t go down easily,” he said. “He felt he was being obstructed. We see challenges like that all the time in midfield and nothing is done to players who go down.

“If we bring entertainers to Scotland we should try to protect them and I know the player is fed up with the way he is being treated by referees."

“If we could appeal a yellow card we would but unfortunately we cannot. It’s a real concern for me as we have a difficult enough job keeping him here without all this as well. It’s a shame it has soured him to Scotland, especially when it’s not necessary. At the other end, Steve Crawford goes down any time anyone is near him but he doesn’t have this reputation.”

The loan star’s caution came ten minutes after Thomson’s cracking drive had broken the deadlock, the stopper rattlingthe ball home following a short free-kick after Andy Webster had hauled down debutant Seyni N’Diaye on the edge of the box.

Wales then headed narrowly wide before N’Diaye wasted a great chance to double his side’s advantage when he blazed over from a tight angle when a pass into the middle for the unmarked Crawford would surely have brought better reward.

Calderwood was left gutted at seeing victory snatched from his grasp with the dramatic intervention from Adam – the second time this season Hearts have rescued a point against the Pars at the death following Stephen Simmons’ injury-time penalty at Tynecastle.

“It’s hard to take as I felt we deserved the win,” said Calderwood. “And that is the second time Hearts have robbed us this season."

“We limited their chances and I didn’t think there was any danger as we had defended really well.”

Levein must have resigned himself to another defeat as the final seconds ticked by but Adam’s strike – he reacted well to a header down from Webster from Steven Boyack’s corner – will have breathed new life into the Jambos campaign.

Having dropped to sixth place after Saturday’s draw, third spot in the table is beginning to look increasingly difficult for Hearts to attain with Livingston having opened up an 11-point gap courtesy of their win over Motherwell.

Finishing in the top six was always Levein’s priority in a season of transition in Gorgie, with anything after that a bonus.

With a continuation of Saturday’s attitude, that target should be easily attainable.

Taken from the Scotsman