Cup dream is over for young Hearts

Paul Kiddie

Hearts 0
Rangers 1
De Boer (27)

IN THE build-up to this CIS Cup semi-final with Rangers, Hearts star Phil Stamp touched on the fact that too many teams who take on the Old Firm are beaten before a ball is kicked because of their inferiority complex in such matches.

The experienced Englishman has played in an FA Cup final for Middlesbrough against Chelsea at Wembley so knows a thing or two about performing on the big stage.

His team-mates had been warned of such a pitfall and the display from Hearts in the first half of last night’s clash will have struck a chord with the midfielder, the Jambos appearing overawed by the task in front of them.

As part of his meticulous preparations, boss Craig Levein had taken his young squad to Hampden Park for a familiarisation visit. The Tynecastle chief had hoped that, by giving players the chance to get a feel for the stadium, those who had never been before would cope better with last night’s occasion.

The meeting with the cup holders, however, still proved an intimidating prospect for Hearts who, according to their manager afterwards, suffered "stagefright" in that opening period.

The first 45 minutes was practically all one-way traffic as Hearts continually gave away possession and found it difficult to get out of their own half, Ronald de Boer striking what ultimately proved to be the matchwinner in the 27th minute after good work from Neil McCann and Fernando Ricksen.

It was a vastly-improved Hearts side which came out after the break but by that time the damage had been done and try as they might to force their way back into the match - and they always had a chance with the score remaining at 1-0 - there was a distinct lack of opportunities in front of Stefan Klos.

And that was disappointing as they had done the hard work at the opposite end by limiting Rangers to just a couple of chances.

"The way we played in the first half was like a team who didn’t quite believe they were good enough to win the game," said Levein. "We lacked confidence and it cost us, basically. We had some players who hadn’t been involved in these situations before and I think we suffered from stagefright, to be honest.

"Sometimes when that happens players think the best thing to do is not to take any chances and sit back in your own half and try to frustrate Rangers but that’s the wrong way.

"It wasn’t planned but a subconscious thing that happened and it took the half-time break to instil a bit of belief in the players to be more positive and take chances.

"Rangers had far too much space and time on the ball. They were able to pick their passes and if you give them acres of space to play in they will hurt you and that was the story of the first half.

"There was no lack of effort, in fact we probably ran twice as much in the first half as we did in the second half trying to get the ball back. There was a lack of self belief in the first 45 minutes and that is what we talked about at half-time. We were in with the chance of making it to a cup final and I didn’t want to get knocked out having played 90 minutes of dross."

To have any chance of taking something from meetings with the Old Firm, generally teams have to be on top of their game with the opposition below par - and the referee has to be strong.

Unfortunately for Hearts last night, they paid the price for being off the pace in the first half while whistler Mike McCurry did them few favours with the kind of performance which gives credence to many supporters’ assertions that their teams are up against twelve men when they tackle the Glasgow giants in their own backyard.

Only McCurry knows why he allowed Ricksen to stay on after his late tackle on Steven Pressley in the 79th minute after the defender had cleared his lines, the Dutchman having earlier been cautioned.

The official chose not to even give the Ibrox star a word of warning, although to Pressley’s credit he didn’t make much of the foul, his reaction surely helping the Rangers star’s cause. The decision summed-up a dreadfully inconsistent display by the experienced referee who time and again punished Hearts and then took no action when Rangers committed similar fouls.

But what’s new, fans may ask.

It would be wrong, however, to suggest that McCurry’s leniency was the reason why the Gorgie outfit failed to book their first appearance in a cup final for almost five years, Levein’s side paying the price for a poor first-half. Had the hot-headed Ricksen been dismissed, though, the pressure would certainly have been on the cup holders with Hearts having had the better of the exchanges after the break.

With an extra man, who knows what may have happened?

As it was, despite not being at their best, Rangers were still good enough to repel the Jambos challenge which only began to materialise after the interval.

Wayward passing in the first period was a particular problem for the Edinburgh side, although the atrocious state of the pitch was hardly conducive to free-flowing football.

It is ironic that De Boer struck just as Hearts were enjoying their best period of the game after their stuttering opening, the recalled Mark de Vries only inches away from sending Gary Wales in on goal and Jean-Louis Valois seeing a free-kick deflected narrowly wide.

The second half saw Hearts actually make a game of it, although they found it hard to break down the Gers rearguard. They were restricted to shots from distance, although Valois had arguably his side’s best chance of the game in the final minute when the ball broke to him in the box.

The Frenchman’s weak shot straight at Klos, however, summed-up Hearts’ night.

While it was a case of what might have been for Hearts, at least Rangers knew they had been in a game after the second half.

"We dominated the first half but knew Hearts couldn’t start the second half as slowly," said boss Alex McLeish. "They tried to pass the ball a bit more and put us under a wee bit more pressure. They unnerved us a little bit and at 1-0 the game was never done.

"We could have become agitated but it was important that we kept our composure."

Levein and his players left Hampden bitterly disappointed but if the experience helps the squad grow in stature then perhaps they will look back one day and appreciate it was all worthwhile.

Taken from the Scotsman