Resurgent Hearts give Levein plenty to cheer

PAUL KIDDIE

IF a team’s response to adversity is an indication of the character it possesses, then Hearts boss Craig Levein can be more than satisfied by the manner in which his side bounced back from the shock of losing the first derby of the season.

Questions were rightly asked of the Jambos after last week’s dramatic late reverse to Hibs at Easter Road, Levein challenging his players to atone for a dismal performance in Leith with the visit of big-spending Dundee United to Tynecastle on Saturday.

The Gorgie chief insisted his players had a lot of making up to do - to the fans as well as themselves - against Ian McCall’s outfit. And Hearts duly responded in emphatic fashion, the points sewn up well before half-time.

The home side simply ran right over their opponents from Tayside, who themselves had every reason to get back on the rails after losing their opening two matches of the campaign.

Such was the hosts’ dominance on Saturday that had this been a boxing match then proceedings would have been brought to a halt long before the end.

The Tangerines proved easy pickings thanks to the strength and industry of Hearts, who also produced the kind of passing game so absent in the clash with Hibs. Levein had promised changes after the Easter Road defeat and true to his word, he made three alterations to his starting line-up.

Turfed out of the 16 completely were Austin McCann, Robert Sloan and new signing Paul Hartley with Paul McMullan, Joe Hamill and Neil MacFarlane all earning their first starts of the campaign.

And while the two youngsters performed adequately enough, it was the return of MacFarlane to the centre of midfield which proved a master stroke by Levein.

Somewhat surprisingly overlooked for the first two games against Aberdeen and Hibs, the former Queen’s Park star brought a new dimension to the team and was one of the key factors in Hearts taking a stranglehold on the game from the first whistle. Tenacious in the tackle and hardly ever wasteful with the ball, MacFarlane’s performance prompted his manager to admit he had made a mistake in overlooking him at the start of the season.

"You can blame me for leaving Neil out," Levein said. "I did think there was something missing in the first couple of games and I now realise I should have played him. The industry he gives us sometimes goes unnoticed and he also allows Phil Stamp to be more positive.

"He came back in and did a great job and as a unit I thought the midfield performed very well."

MacFarlane’s display was only one of a number of impressive showings in the home ranks, with Stamp and Scott Severin bossing the middle of the park in some style.

Mark de Vries was also back to his dominant best, the Dutchman causing havoc in the United backline almost every time he had the ball.

And although Scotland stars Steven Pressley and Andy Webster were rarely troubled by Billy Dodds and Collin Samuel - the man who caused so much damage in the Scottish Cup clash at Falkirk last season - anything they had to do was done so with consummate ease.

United, tipped by many to be top-six material this season, simply had no answer to a rejuvenated Hearts and they can count themselves fortunate the margin of victory was not bigger. The tone of the afternoon was set after just eight minutes after a superb move involving MacFarlane and Scott Severin ended with Alan Maybury rifling a right-foot shot narrowly past Paul Gallagher’s right-hand post.

The opener arrived just 12 minutes later, Stamp lashing home a shot following a short free-kick, although the United wall looked far from convincing.

Two minutes later and the advantage had doubled in bizarre circumstances.

Stamp sent in a long ball from the right towards man mountain De Vries in the box. Mark Wilson had read the situation and rose to send a header back towards his keeper but unfortunately for the defender Gallagher’s positioning was again questionable and the ball sailed into the back of the net as the Scotland No.2 came wandering way off his line.

United, with five of McCall’s summer signings in the starting XI, had their one and only glimpse of goal just after the half-hour mark when Samuel beat Pressley in a race for the ball, his shot tipped over by an alert Tepi Moilanen.

With 33 minutes on the clock, the victory was wrapped up and it was De Vries who applied the decisive strike with another fine solo effort following his magnificent opening-day effort against the Dons.

Picking the ball up on the edge of the area, the Dutchman, who celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday, twisted and turned his way past three defenders before cracking a left-foot shot past Gallagher.

On a near perfect afternoon for Hearts, the only thing missing was a goal for new boy Dennis Wyness, although the striker looked to have broken his duck in the 49th minute only to be denied by a superb save from Gallagher.

Perhaps not surprisingly on another sun-drenched afternoon in Gorgie, the Jambos took the foot of the pedal in the second half but it didn’t detract from a comprehensive victory over a United side which is now rooted to the foot of the table with no points from three games - and the prospect of facing Rangers this weekend at Tannadice.

"I have got to be pleased," said Levein.

"Credit to the lads, they responded in a positive manner after last week.

"These guys have had criticism in the past, a couple of times last year they didn’t perform to their best and every time they bounced back and gave us a good performance. One of the criticisms of last week was we got caught on the ball too often but we didn’t over complicate things against Dundee United and passed the ball better. And I detected more confidence coming back as the game wore on."

With in-form Dunfermline due at Tynecastle on Sunday, that new-found self-belief could not have been rediscovered at a better time.

Taken from the Scotsman