Tussle with Black Cats leaves boss Levein purring

HEARTS may have let victory slip through their fingers at Tynecastle last night as they surrendered a two-goal lead but there were plenty of positives to be taken from their performance in a 2-2 draw with Sunderland to suggest that the club’s supporters can look to the coming season with optimism.

Black Cats super-sub Sean Thornton denied the Jambos victory with two superb goals inside three minutes just two minutes after coming off the bench, but with more luck on the night the Gorgie men could have been well ahead by that point.

Phil Stamp opened the scoring for the home side before Mark De Vries doubled their advantage to put Hearts on course for what looked like being a comfortable win.

However, Mick McCarthy’s men, who contested every 50/50 ball as though it were a competitive match, fought back to net twice in the closing 18 minutes.

The Jambos support that turned out to watch their side’s first pre-season friendly at Tynecastle for more than four years were given glimpses of new signings Paul Hartley, Dennis Wyness and Patrick Kisnorbo, who appeared as a second-half substitute.

Hartley had to be replaced at half-time after picking up an ankle knock but did enough in the opening 45 minutes to suggest he can play a key part in Hearts’ season.

Young winger Joe Hamill was given a starting role in the absence of Jean-Louis Valois and although he too picked up an injury and was replaced at half-time he also impressed and looks to be an excellent prospect for the future.

Hearts’ other summer signing, Tepi Moilanen, had to content himself with a place on the bench as Levein preferred Craig Gordon between the posts with the teenager not putting a foot wrong all evening.

After the game Levein declared himself happy with the showing of his players.

"That was our best performance yet," he said.

"I’m obviously disappointed not to have won the game because if I had been speaking having held on at 2-0, I would have been very pleased.

"At 3-0 or 4-0 the game would have been over but people will miss chances because that is the nature of the game.

"There was a hell of a lot of encouragement there for me and I think that the link-up play at times was exceptional from guys that haven’t really played an awful lot together.

"There are an awful lot of things to be happy about but you need to win games - it’s as simple as that. If we had been able to field the same team in the second half we may have held on." The Hearts boss also had special praise for goalkeeper Gordon who proved himself a more than able deputy to Moilanen.

Levein said: "I’ve been saying for a long time that the lad’s got a big future and although he didn’t have an awful lot to do in the first half, he made two very good saves in the second half. It’s a difficult position for younger lads to play in sometimes because you are under the spotlight but I thought he did well. I was very pleased."

Straight from the kick-off it was clear that the match would be played in a competitive spirit, Hearts looking to bounce back from some disappointing friendly results while the Sunderland players looked keen to impress boss McCarthy and avoid being the latest casualties of his Stadium of Light clearout.

Stamp’s every touch of the ball was met with a chorus of boos from the travelling support, the midfielder having played with Sunderland’s north east rivals Middlesbrough for several seasons.

With three minutes on the clock the player had the chance to silence them when he got on the end of a Hartley corner but he completely miscued his effort which fell tamely into the arms of goalkeeper Mart Poom.

Midway through the half though and Stamp atoned for that miss when he latched onto a knock down from De Vries and fired an unstoppable 25-yard effort low to the right of Poom.

The midfielder, who was playing despite a chest infection, looked to be relishing competing against his old rivals and clearly enjoyed the strike, celebrating in front of the 1000 or so Sunderland fans who had made the trip north.

The visitors’ defence were having all kinds of problems competing with the physical style of De Vries particularly as the crosses of Hamill and Hartley continually picked him out. It was only a matter of time before the towering striker got on the scoresheet and his goal duly arrived seven minutes from the interval when Hartley fed Hamill and the youngster’s ball from the left was inch perfect for De Vries to head in from eight yards.

After the break Hearts did have several opportunities to kill off the game with Wyness and De Vries both going close.

It was, though, the Black Cats who got the next goal with substitute Thornton scoring a tremendous 30-yard curling free-kick with 18 minutes remaining.

Three minutes later and the talented winger had squared the match as he stole in unmarked at the back post to powerfully head home an accurate John Oster cross.

Andy Webster almost won the game for Hearts right at the death when his header from a Kisnorbo cross flew agonisingly wide.

Hearts: Gordon, Maybury, McCann (McLeod 72), Pressley, Webster, Severin, Hartley (Boyack 45), Stamp (Kisnorbo 85), De Vries, Wyness (Weir 80), Hamill (MacFarlane 45). Subs not used: Moilanen, Kirk.

Sunderland: Poom, Wright, McCartney, McAteer, Williams, Bjorklund, Oster, Whitley (Thirwell 64), Kyle, Stewart (Proctor 58), Kilbane (Thornton 70). Subs not used: Clark, Butler.

Referee: Ian Fyfe.

Taken from the Scotsman