Hearts fail to Stamp their authority on dream start

BY PAUL KIDDIE AT ALMONDVALE

Livingston 1
Hearts 1

FOR an afternoon which promised so much for Hearts, it eventually turned out to be a frustrating day for Craig Levein and his players at Almondvale.

The Jambos headed to West Lothian in search of their first Premierleague win at the home of their hosts and vital points in the race for Europe.

If they could achieve that aim then all eyes would have turned to Dens Park where fourth-placed Kilmarnock were in action against in-form Dundee with many people expecting a testing 90 minutes for the Ayrshire outfit.

Hearts certainly began as if they meant business, Phil Stamp cracking home a crisp drive to put his side into the lead with just eight minutes on the clock - the Englishman was also on the scoresheet the last time the teams met at Almondvale, his second-half effort earning share of the spoils on that occasion.

The Jambos, who had been forced to go into the game with Austin McCann at left-back in place of Stephane Mahe, were in the driving seat for the opening 45 minutes during which they should have made the game safe.

And it was recent signing Alan Main who was the Lions’ hero, the former Dundee United and St Johnstone goalkeeper producing a couple of fine stops to prevent Hearts extending their advantage.

Just after the half-hour mark, the keeper did well to deny Gary Wales after the striker had been set up by Kevin McKenna’s flick and the Livingston No.1 was in the thick of the action seconds later, this time blocking McKenna’s effort as the visitors enjoyed the better of a first half devoid of any real excitement.

The travelling fans must have wondered at the time if those missed opportunities would prove costly but when news filtered through from Dens Park that Jim Duffy’s side had taken a 2-0 lead over Kilmarnock, such anxieties were no doubt somewhat eased.

However, having been on top for the first half Hearts found things much different after the break as Livingston boss Jim Leishman threw on Oscar Rubio and Davide Xausa for Gustave Bahoken and Eugene Dadi, the home side reverting to three at the back with five in midfield.

It certainly had the desired effect for Leishman as Hearts struggled to adapt to the extra numbers in the middle of the park.

Xausa sent a warning just five minutes after the break when he burst clear only to shoot into the side netting when a cutback could well have brought more reward.

Just after the hour mark, though, and the game was indeed level.

Former Tynecastle favourite Lee Makel floated in a corner towards the back post and Rubio made the most of poor marking to send a header flashing past Tepi Moilanen.

Although they tried to regain the initiative, clear-cut chances in front of Main were not forthcoming for Hearts, substitute Steven Boyack just inches away from making contact after a Jean-Louis Valois through ball and Stamp shooting wide in the last minute.

Having said that Moilanen did not have a save of note to make throughout the entire game as the Jambos backline looked far more solid compared to last week’s performance against Motherwell, albeit they emerged victorious from that clash.

The draw was perhaps just about a fair result, Hearts not doing enough to win the match but not deserving to lose either.

Prior to kick-off such a scenario could have been viewed as two important points dropped but in the context of the race for third spot and automatic qualification for Europe, there was no real damage done.

Kilmarnock battled back bravely at Dens to clinch a 2-2 draw but that stalemate means there are still four points separating the two teams with now just eight games remaining.

"It’s a difficult place to pick up points but what was disappointing was the fact we were leading," said Levein. "It’s always a bit sorer when you drop two points having been in front rather than clawing a goal back to get a draw.

"There was a critical period in the match just before half-time when Alan Main made two wonderful saves and I think he got his team a point.

"2-0 at half-time would have been a different story. I am not saying we would have run out easy winners but it would have been much more difficult for Livingston.

"But we lost a goal from a corner and that was disappointing as we don’t concede many goals from set pieces. We gave the ball away in the build-up to the corner and then Kevin McKenna got caught ball watching which is not like him and I can forgive him this once.

"I watched Livingston against Dundee and they looked like they had regained some of the fighting spirit from last season. I knew it was going to be a tough game and so it proved."

For the home side Leishman was happy to see his team build on the midweek draw against Dundee, the share of the spoils earning the West Lothian side another vital point in its quest to pull away from the bottom of the table.

"After having some decent possession at the start of the first half and causing Hearts problems, we lost a stupid goal," said the Lions boss.

"Alan Main then had to make two or three good saves before the break. We then made some changes and looked a lot better and were more involved in the game.

"We scored a quality goal but overall I think a draw was a fair result."

Taken from the Scotsman