Go De Vries lightning

KILMARNOCK 0-2 HEARTS

Gary Sutherland

MARK De Vries put the freeze on Kilmarnock with an individual first-half performance which underpinned his claim to be one of the most effective strikers operating within the Premierleague, his double keeping Hearts in third place in the Premierleague.

Craig Levein clearly has no complaints on this subject, with the striker he recruited to Tynecastle in the summer of 2002 playing at the peak of his game. It was, though, following this corresponding fixture in May which Kilmarnock won 1-0 with two Hearts players sent off that Levein made his now infamous comments about referee Dougie McDonald.

The story is still unfolding as far as Levein and the SFA and the courts are concerned but mercifully this match was about football - the majority of it performed by the commanding visitors.

Every man in maroon leaving the pitch had a hand shaken by their manager as the Hearts supporters cheered and applauded. Those of a Kilmarnock bent slinked off having witnessed a dire display by the home team. There was a gulf between these two sides that never looked like being breached. Broken Kilmarnock, Hearts ever brimming with burgeoning confidence.

"All round that’s as well as we’ve played since I’ve been here," said the Hearts manager. "It was a really pleasing performance. Our strikers’ work rate was incredible." Levein lauded De Vries’ desire to step back and help his team-mates while he said Dennis Wyness’ link-up play was "excellent," which it was.

On very early evidence it was hard to see past Hearts. Phil Stamp was first to threaten with his controlled burst into the Killie box and hooked shot over Colin Meldrum’s bar. Then from Stevie Fulton’s error Scott Severin pounced but drew a promising low drive wide of the far post.

Hard to keep a good striker down and it was De Vries who handed Hearts the lead. Patrick Kisnorbo lobbed a ball deep into Killie territory for the prolific Dutchman to latch on, neatly sidestepping Meldrum to dispatch an acute finish low into the opposite corner of the net.

Not sated by his opener De Vries proceeded to derive more fun from his deft touches and turns causing several fankles in the Killie defence as one moment he was setting up a colleague, the next he was twisting to achieve his own target practice which the home team were not enjoying very much.

Standing head and shoulders above anyone else on the park, it was apparent that Killie had to get a handle on De Vries if they were to prevent further devious damage being done by a man who was being ably assisted by the uncanny intelligence of the wily Wyness who was faultless throughout.

After Stamp took an earbashing from the Rugby Park fans and a yellow card from Hugh Dallas for a crunching tackle on Peter Canero, Hearts made their second goal of the day. From Joe Hamill’s far-side corner the only one to get on the end of it was De Vries who towered sufficiently to send in a netbound header Meldrum got a touch too but not enough to keep it out.

Woeful was the summary of at least one Killie fan at half-time and it might have been worse than woeful had De Vries grabbed his hat-trick with the last kick of the ball before Dallas blew his whistle for the interval.

Perplexing Freddie Dindeleux (which De Vries had been doing for most of the afternoon) the Hearts striker dragged his attempt wide. It was not wide of the mark to say Killie were required to offer something special if they were to get back into this decidedly lopsided affair.

Jim Jefferies made some firm dressing room decisions hooking Alan Mahood, Gary McSwegan and Garry Hay to send on an entire requisite of substitutes, Stephen Murray, Colin Nish and Martin Hardie all thrust into action to try and alter the weather pattern, Hardie coming fairly close with a header.

De Vries nearly engineered his third but his drive struck Meldrum’s legs and Hardie tried his luck from long distance but those three points were heading Hearts’ way and this game was going nowhere in terms of interest.

While Hearts were content enough to sit on their lead Killie might as well have sat down en masse such was the ineffectiveness with which they were questioning the retreating Hearts rearguard. The hosts were some way improved during the second period but partly because Hearts allowed this.

Hardie was at least trying to beat Tepi Moilanen but a fresh-air from one Murray cutback and another half-connected wayward attempt were not likely to trouble Hearts’ Finnish keeper. By now the main stand was beginning to get depleted, dissatisfied punters heading off having witnessed Kilmarnock have one heck of a serious off day.

"Hearts dominated us and we just didn’t take part. We can count ourselves fortunate only to be 2-0 down at half-time," said Jefferies. "We were a wee bit better second-half but still a long way from what is required."

The Killie manager conceded that De Vries’ "power was awesome" and that he was "a constant menace to us." Meantime his side with no answers were reduced to "huffing and puffing away" unable to keep the big bad wolf that was De Vries from the door.

An open and closed case, Levein the outright winner.

Taken from the Scotsman