Wales pops up to help ease the pain of cup nightmare

Paul Kiddie

HEARTS boss Craig Levein heaped praise on his players after the dramatic victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie - and they deserved every single word.

The Jambos, still smarting from their embarrassing Tennent’s Scottish Cup exit at Falkirk at the weekend, defied the elements in the Granite City last night to produce the kind of performance which had been the hallmark of their rise to third place in the league after the first half of the season.

The wind may have been howling off the North Sea, the rain may have been lashing down in torrents and the thermometer may have been hovering barely above zero - the attendance of just over 9000 showed it was definitely a night to stay in indoors.

Yet skipper Steven Pressley - back to something like his best at the back - and his men put the horrors of Brockville behind them with the kind of display which will certainly help ease the pain of the 4-0 loss to the Bairns.

And it went a long way to substantiating their manager’s claim that the cup tie had indeed been no more than a ‘bad day at the office.’

Craig Levein’s side returned to action from the winter break at the weekend and basically capitulated at Brockville, Ian McCall’s first division side having the game won within half-an-hour as the lightning-fast Collin Samuel inspired the home side to a famous victory.

The Dons, however, had their own speed merchant in Darren Mackie but such was the improved performance of the Gorgie defence that the Pittodrie star barely had a look-in.

And when he did, debutant keeper Tepi Moilanen proved more than equal to their efforts as he produced a couple of excellent saves.

On chances created alone, the Jambos deserved to take the honours with Scott Severin, Mark de Vries and eventual match-winner Gary Wales wasting decent opportunities in front of David Preece.

Last night’s victory said more about the players’ resolve than anything else and could yet prove a significant triumph in the quest to qualify for Europe with Dunfermline going down to a surprising home defeat to Dundee. And there was no concealing Levein’s delight at the way his men had bounced back from what was a chastening experience for all involved four days ago.

"I was really, really pleased for the players after the stick they got, and deservedly so, after the weekend," he said. "I couldn’t believe what they did at Falkirk and neither could they. They have never played like that.

"The work rate they had before the winter break had dropped on Saturday and I’m sure it was down to concentration. But they worked extremely hard last night and tried to play football in what were very difficult circumstances.

"They were altogether a lot more professional and they deserve enormous credit for that. The conditions deteriorated as the game went on and they got a bit nervous with the state of the pitch as they didn’t want to make short passes.

"It looked like a mistake could prove critical. I am not saying Aberdeen made a mistake, though, as I thought Gary Wales took his goal really well."

Kevin McKenna was relegated to the bench after the weekend disaster - Andy Webster took his place - and Craig Gordon also found himself among the substitutes with Moilanen making his debut. With Phil Stamp suspended and Severin restored to the starting line-up, the team didn’t look that different from the one which suffered so much at Brockville - but how the performance differed.

Saturday’s game may have been lost within half-an-hour but by the time 30 minutes had elapsed last night the Jambos had created enough openings to suggest they meant business.

Both teams did admirably well to play attacking football in conditions which became increasingly difficult.

With two subs already committed, Levein took something of a gamble when introducing Wales for Weir with just under half-an-hour remaining but the move paid dividends as the former Hamilton Accies striker showed superb calmness to convert Jean-Louis Valois’ pass with just seconds remaining.

And it will not be lost on Hearts fans that Wales’ effort was another vital late contribution - another example, despite what Brockville may have suggested - of the fighting spirit within Tynecastle.

While the Falkirk result was a real concern for the Hearts management team, it would have been wrong to draw comparisons with the heavy league defeat suffered at Fir Park in December when a young and inexperienced Hearts side went down in spectacular fashion to Terry Butcher’s charges.

Levein’s outfit, though, bounced back from that particular setback with a home win over Livingston and proceeded to harness an impressive 13 points from a possible 18 before the shutdown.

Having restored credibility in some style with the manner of the win in Aberdeen, successive home games in the league against Dunfermline and Kilmarnock - not to mention a CIS Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden on Tuesday - provide the opportunity to respond to the Falkirk debacle in similar fashion.

Taken from the Scotsman