Gorgie grit keeps Hearts ticking over

Published Date: 18 March 2002
A SPATE of late goals has kept Hearts' hopes of a top-six finish - and the outside chance of sneaking a place in next season's UEFA Cup competition - alive in recent weeks.
Without them the Gorgie outfit would have been looking, as their Capital rivals are, at playing out the final few matches of the season with nothing at stake.

And it was that never-say-die attitude, plus an astute gamble by boss Craig Levein, which all but clinched Hearts' place in the SPL's top six and, with just six points between them and fourth-placed Livingston their dream of Europe is still very much alive.

It has to be said, of course, that the West Lothian outfit, despite their recent slide, remain favourites but one thing is certain, Levein and his players won't be giving up until the very last whistle of a remarkable season has sounded.

When Hearts last travelled to Easter Road the Gorgie club was in turmoil, the board under attack and the team, following two goals by Ulises de la Cruz, looked set for a battle at the wrong end of the table.

But Levein's nerve held firm and as Hibs went into freefall, it has been Hearts who have regained the mantle, at least for the time being, of top club in Edinburgh.

However, the bitter memories of that day in the east end of the city were still fresh in Levein's mind and were reinforced as Hibs, again, grabbed an early goal, Garry O'Connor in the right spot to claim his third strike in as many games after a mix-up between Scott Severin and Antti Niemi gifted the home side a corner.

It was the sort of setback which could easily have led to a collapse had Hibs got a second goal but Hearts came roaring back, Tommi Gronlund putting a free header wide and a point-blank shot into the arms of Nick Colgan while Kevin McKenna, pushed into a forward role again, totally missed his kick when Ricardo Fuller left him with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Fuller, though, was both saint a sinner in this 90 minutes, a player full of talent but one who also suffers from a selfish streak. Give him the ball and he doesn't want to give it away - even to a team-mate.

And how Hearts paid for that fault in the Jamaican's make-up as he robbed Alen Orman deep in his own half and set off at speed with Gronlund and Robert Sloan in support on either side and only Gary Smith between them and Colgan.

Playing the ball to either side would surely have brought the equaliser but Fuller, well marshalled by Smith, went alone and only managed to put his shot into the sidenetting.

Such an extravagance can prove costly, particularly in a derby, as Levein admitted. He said: "He's a maverick, as smashing a talent as any who has graced the Hearts jersey ability wise. But he is unpredictable.

"He's a young lad who hasn't had a lot of football, the game was on national television and he is trying to make a name for himself by letting everyone see what he can do.

"I can understand his desire to score goals but perhaps he is not mature enough yet to realise that the goals will come although sometimes a goal for the team is just as important."

While Hearts certainly had their chances, don't believe it was all one-way traffic, O'Connor denied a second goal by a brilliant block from Severin and then a great save low to his left by Niemi.

Had either of those gone in, Hearts would have been in serious trouble as Hibs boss Bobby Williamson, in charge for his first derby, acknowledged.

He said: "In any game you need that second goal. When you get it they really have to come out and you can exploit them."

However, it was Hearts who did the exploiting in the second half, able to do so thanks to Severin's deflected strike five minutes before the interval, the goal coming at just the right time to lift the visitors' spirits.

Levein looked as if he had settled for a point when he brought Kevin McKenna into the back-line, the Canadian replaced by Gary Wales while Thomas Flogel's experience took over from Sloan.

The Hearts boss admitted there was a certain amount of "shoring up" behind his thinking. But he also revealed he had taken a bit of a gamble. He said: "Sometimes you have to make tough decisions. At 1-1 we were in a top-six place with a game to go. We decided to change to a back three to shore things up but also to invite Hibs onto us and hopefully sneak a goal on the break with the pace of Fuller and Wales."

And Levein was "pleased" to see his ploy work, only a superb last-ditch challenge from Gary Smith preventing Wales from scoring before Fuller, who had earlier burst free only to see his rising shot whistle wide, was brought down by Gary Caldwell.

A definite penalty despite Colgan's histrionics, the look on the on-loan defender's face saying it all, the Scotland Under-21 star admitting afterwards: "I'm absolutely gutted. I thought we played all right throughout the game and created the better chances but we threw it away a bit at the end.

"Fuller got the break of the ball off Gary (Smith), I thought I could get it but I never. I'm gutted for the fans more than anyone."

Steven Pressley, who had shown his nerve from the spot to claim a vital point at Kilmarnock, stepped up to dispatch the ball into the net with similar aplomb, his goal not only giving Hearts their first win at Easter Road in five years but ending a run of six derbies without a victory and giving Levein his first as Gorgie boss in five attempts.

Even then Hibs weren't finished, Craig Brewster flashing a header onto the top of the net and then substitute Derek Townsley firing a powerful shot into Niemi's midriff.

Naturally, both managers felt their side deserved victory, Williamson pointing to what he felt was a definite penalty when Sloan clipped the heels of Orman, the Bosnian-born star electing to stay on his feet only to see his cross cut out when, had he gone down, referee Willie Young would probably have been left with no option but to point to the spot.

Levein, on the other hand, illustrated a Steve Fulton free-kick which appeared to come off the arm of a Hibs player but Williamson could claim that if Hibs had gained their earlier award it would have given them that vital two-goal lead and with it possibly the points.

Levein said: "Of course I will say I thought we deserved it. We lost an early goal and after our last experience here that was a dangerous thing to do - but I cannot praise the players highly enough for the spirit they showed."

And Levein revealed how the pressure had been building on him thanks to his derby record of three draws and a defeat in his previous four outings against Hibs.

He said: "I'd been asked for days beforehand about it and it does bring it's own pressure. The players, too, possibly felt my nervousness but thankfully they were able to handle it."

Similarly, Williamson felt his side had done enough to pick up what would have been a third successive win under his command.

He said: "To say I am disappointed is to understate how I feel. I do not think we deserved to lose but at 1-0 we knew Hearts would be dangerous and that proved to be the case.

"To lose a goal right at the death was disappointing. When they got their goal we were the team pushing forward and they exploited the spaces we left.

"Fuller caused us problems but I was disappointed we did not really compete as well in the air while there were a lot of free-kicks against us which could have gone either way.

"We hadn't lost a goal up to this game so to lose two was disappointing but we'll sit down this week and see how the players react."

As always the derby threw up plenty of what-ifs and maybes for discussion in the pubs in Gorgie and Leith afterwards but in the cold light of day both sets of fans, if they are totally honest, will admit they'll miss the chance of a fourth clash of the city giants this season on the evidence of these 90 minutes.

Taken from the Scotsman