Kirk gets chance to earn recall

STRIKER Andy Kirk has the chance to stake a claim for a recall to the Hearts first team when the Under-21s take on St Mirren tonight.

The Gorgie outfit head to Rugby Park this weekend and a vital clash with Kilmarnock as Craig Levein’s side look to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat from Rangers at Tynecastle.

With Jamaican front man Ricardo Fuller suspended for the Ayrshire showdown, Levein will be forced to make at least one change in attack.

Kirk, who blasted a hat-trick for the wee Jambos in last week’s 4-2 win over St Johnstone, will be desperate to impress again at Forthbank this evening (kick-off 7pm) as he targets his first start since October.

The Northern Ireland internationalist has had to be content with a place on the bench after recovering from injury due to the form of both Fuller and Gary Wales.

Levein admitted after seeing the former Glentoran ace grab his treble tops last Monday that he was in the forefront of his thoughts.

And another good showing tonight could see him win the nod for the clash with Killie.

Goals from Ronald de Boer and Neil McCann completed a comfortable victory for Alex McLeish’s side on Saturday.

The clinching goal, though, came after Fuller had been trying to launch a Hearts attack in a bid to salvage an equaliser, the striker cutting inside Lorenzo Amoruso on the edge of the area only to be stopped in his tracks by Arthur Numan.

Claims for a foul were waved aside by referee Hugh Dallas and McCann promptly raced some 50 yards before slotting home a tremendous strike.

Fuller appeared intent on going for glory rather than trying to pick out a team-mate with a cross and Levein is hoping his loan star will learn from the situation.

"It might have been obstruction, but we didn’t get it," he said. "But the fact is we had plenty players in the box as we pushed for an equaliser and it was an opportunity for Ricardo to throw in a cross and perhaps get a goal. But he is a young lad and he will learn from it."

And in a dig at some of the decisions which have gone against Fuller this season, Levein added: "The good thing is he didn’t get booked for diving."

The Jambos boss conceded that Hearts had made life easier for their opponents by giving the ball away on too many occasions on Saturday. And he was concerned at the number of opportunities which Rangers created in front of Antti Niemi, who produced some miraculous saves to keep the score down.

"When we played Celtic at Parkhead recently we kept possession well and it was the same at Ibrox when we played Rangers there," he said.

"We restricted them to far less chances away from home than we did at Tynecastle. It’s a puzzle really as we had done well against the Old Firm on our own ground this season."

Taken from the Scotsman