Fears turn into cheers as Hearts boss Levein breaks his Capital derby duck

Published Date: 18 March 2002
HEARTS boss Craig Levein is not a man you would expect to suffer from nerves.
As a player he seemed ahead of his time, a cultured and unflappable defender who always looked relaxed on the ball amid the rough-and-tumble of the Premier League.

As a coach he cuts a studious yet laid back figure, relaxed in front of the press and television cameras and rarely one to lose his cool during a game. However, the former Scotland international admitted his stomach was tied in knots going into and during Saturday's derby with Hibs.

In the run-up to the big match, countless interviewers - your reporter included - had been quick to remind him of the fact he had yet to win a game against his city rivals in four attempts.

Nearly 18 months had passed since he arrived at Tynecastle as the successor to Jim Jefferies and he'd yet to savour a derby victory.

For a man who was part of a Hearts side which seemed almost unbeatable in the Capital clashes over a long number of years, he was in unfamiliar territory.

At 5.35pm on Saturday he felt unhealthily tense, and he only hoped that anxiousness was not transferred to his playing staff.

Just four minutes after the first toot of Willie Young's whistle, it didn't look good. A harmless ball was chased by both Scott Severin and Antti Niemi, the pair getting in each other's way as the former sliced the ball wide for a corner.

Those early jitters proved costly. John O'Neil's corner found the head of Gary Caldwell, who flicked the ball on to Garry O'Connor, who cracked the ball home. It looked like another long, miserable match at Easter Road might be in the offing.

In complete contrast, Bobby Williamson was in dreamland. Taking charge of the Hibees for an Edinburgh derby for the first time, he had got off to the perfect start.

With less than five minutes played it looked like the former Kilmarnock chief was going to break his derby duck. After consecutive 3-0 victories in his first two games in charge, Williamson had already won over a support which was hurt by the loss of his predecessor Franck Sauzee.

Taking an early lead against the club's bitter rivals further endeared him to the fans, who responded by chanting his name with gusto.

However, Levein's side regrouped and cut out the defensive wobbles to mount their own forays forward, creating the best chances of the first period. Midfielder Tommi Gronlund was getting beyond the strikers, but the Finn betrayed his lack of prowess by missing two gilt-edged chances in front of goal.

Then Ricardo Fuller dispossessed O'Neil to burst clear into the Hibs half with only Gary Smith to beat. But, with Robert Sloan giving Hearts a three-on-one advantage in the attack, the Jamaican opted to go it alone, eventually crashing his shot into the side-netting.

Levein's anxiety was turning into frustration.

However, with half-time approaching, Hearts got the break of the ball they had been hoping for. The home defence failed to deal adequately with a corner kick and, as Kevin McKenna tried to dig the ball out from under his feet to shoot, the ball was knocked clear by Caldwell.

It fell perfectly for Severin, who was hovering with intent a couple of yards outside the area. The 23-year-old swung his right boot at the ball and thrashed in a low shot which clipped Alen Orman on its way into the bottom corner.

The edgy Levein jumped into the air before being grabbed by assistant Peter Houston with whom he seemed to go hopping mad.

Half-time arrived soon enough and it would be fair to say Levein's nerves had been somewhat soothed as he headed into the dressing-room.

Earlier in the day, Dunfermline had lost to Aberdeen at Pittodrie, meaning a point was enough to put the Tynecastle club into sixth place on goal difference.

So, was the Gorgie boss prepared to gamble on not achieving a memorable victory in order to tighten up his defence and increase his prospects of gaining a point?

In a word, yes.

Fifteen minutes into the second period he reverted from his favoured 4-4-2 formation to 3-5-2, with surrogate striker McKenna being pulled back into defence and wing-backs Alan Maybury and Stephane Mahe sitting deep.

It was a risky policy, but the introduction of Gary Wales in attack meant he had two mobile forwards whom he banked on causing Hibs problems on the counter-attack.

As you'd expect, Williamson thrust his side on to Hearts, but they were unable to break down the masses of maroon jerseys in front of them.

Levein's tactics paid off four minutes from time when Fuller broke into the penalty area and was upended by Caldwell.

Skipper Steven Pressley assumed responsibility and slammed the penalty home, sparking more jubilation in the visitors' dug-out.

Levein's nerves had turned to joy and after a quick shake of hands with Williamson, the third Hibs boss he's faced this season, Levein ran on to the park to salute the 1607 Hearts fans who had stumped up to attend the game.

Afterwards he breathed a huge sigh of relief and spoke of his relief at finally breaking his derby duck.

He said: "All I was being asked about before the game was the fact I hadn't won a derby game yet and, yes, that had preyed on my mind.

"I was nervous and the players feel that nervousness as well - they can't avoid that.

"It's difficult when you're standing in the dug-out and I was tense, but thankfully the players weren't as nervous as me."

While Levein was able to savour his first success in the game which matters most to the supporters, Williamson was feeling the pain of defeat for the first time.

He had played down the personal significance of the Capital clash in the run-up to the match citing his experiences as a player in Old Firm games and Ayrshire derbies as proof that he needed no conditioning in advance of his first major test as Hibs boss.

Nevertheless, in the aftermath it was clear that his first defeat in his new job had hurt him badly. He said: "The game was an emotional roller-coaster and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. It's an understatement to say I'm disappointed - I don't think we deserved to lose the game.

"I'm sure I'll find out a lot about my players this week. I'll need to see just how much they are hurting after this defeat and that will tell me a lot about their character."

While Williamson will get down to the nitty-gritty with his players this week, Levein will be able to breath a little easier now a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

The victory won't make him any less hungry for success, but it should at least ensure he reverts to his naturally-composed self the next time he faces the Hibees.

Taken from the Scotsman