Not slick but no slip-ups as Jambos avoid banana skin

PAUL KIDDIE

"REMEMBER Brockville" could well have been all that Hearts boss Craig Levein needed to say to his players before sending them into battle against Berwick Rangers in the third round of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup.

Twelve months ago the Jambos were the victims of a stunning upset in the competition, the Gorgie outfit sent tumbling out by first division Falkirk.

The breathtaking 4-0 victory for the Bairns left Levein’s men shell-shocked, wondering just what had gone wrong and determined to ensure there was no similar surprise in store at the start of this season’s cup campaign.

Of course, the circumstances were vastly different.

They were up against a team from a division lower than Falkirk, had the advantage of playing the tie at Tynecastle and went into the clash on the back of an important league win over Dundee rather than going in cold after the now-defunct winter break.

Nevertheless, the Scottish Cup wouldn’t be the Scottish Cup if there wasn’t a history of the underdog having its day and that is why Levein was just happy to see off the challenge of the plucky Borderers on Saturday.

The 2-0 win was not pretty to watch and not a performance which will be remembered with any great affection by the supporters.

But it was a win and at the end of the day that’s all that matters in cup competitions. Having your name in the hat for the next round is the bottom line for all managers.

The conditions made it almost impossible to produce the kind of football which was pleasing to the eye, a strong swirling wind combined with squally showers making life difficult for both sets of players from the outset.

Afterwards, Levein praised his players for the "professional" job they did in securing a place in the fourth round where they will now meet Celtic at Tynecastle early next month.

"We had 90 per cent of the possession but Berwick Rangers were very well organised," he said.

"They denied us space in their half of the park and we had to be very patient. To be honest that is something we anticipated before the game. We would have liked to have scored two or three goals early on, relax and give everyone something to cheer about.

"But it was extremely difficult and even at 2-0 up we couldn’t find any space.

"It was a tough 90 minutes but we never looked like losing anything and it was a professional and concentrated performance from the team."

Riding high in the second division, the visitors had arrived in Gorgie full of confidence. And boss Paul Smith, as expected, had his troops well drilled and primed for battle.

The wee Rangers made a lively start to proceedings, no doubt buoyed by memories of their last visit to Tynecastle three years ago when they were leading 1-0 with 20 minutes remaining of their third round replay after the teams had fought out a 0-0 draw at Shielfield Park.

Two quickfire goals on that occasion from Gary McSwegan and Juanjo put paid to any thoughts of a shock win.

But while Berwick were again well organised and competitive throughout the proceedings, they never really threatened to repeat Falkirk’s achievement of last season, with Craig Gordon hardly having a save of note to make.

There had been little for the home crowd to shout about in the opening exchanges, Andy Kirk’s 19th-minute shot past the post the only incident of note.

Alan Maybury was outstanding in the win at Dens Park on Tuesday night, setting up one goal and scoring the late winner in his side’s 2-1 victory.

And he was the man who once again provided the ammunition on Saturday.

Robert Sloan played a short corner to the defender whose cross into the area took a slight deflection and Mark Cowan only succeeded in heading the ball into his own net as he tried to clear the danger.

It was ill luck for the centre-half who had otherwise been revelling in his marking role on Mark de Vries.

With Hearts enjoying the vast majority of possession, most of the action was in front of Neil Inglis’ goal and the keeper did well to keep the hosts at bay as the interval approached.

He got down low to his right to save Scott Severin’s shot in the 33rd minute and then four minutes from the break he did even better to smother Paul Hartley’s 25-yard free-kick.

The closest Berwick came to getting on the scoresheet came two minutes after the restart when former Hearts man David Murie drilled an inviting low, angled ball across the face of goal. Unfortunately for the minnows, there were no takers and the chance was gone. Substitute Dennis Wyness - he had replaced Andy Kirk after the Northern Ireland internationalist had taken an ankle knock - almost grabbed the second goal which would have made the game safe when he let fly from the edge of the area only for Inglis to magnificently tip the shot over the bar.

Hartley then created a shooting chance for himself but wasted his good work when he fired wide of the target.

With just the single-goal advantage there was always the chance that the visitors could yet sneak their way back into the tie but two of the Jambos’ exciting youngsters combined to put the issue beyond doubt.

Robert Sloan had looked more confident than in recent appearances and he played a great ball through to Maybury down the right. The former Leeds United star whipped in a low cross and when Wyness just missed making contact at the near post, fellow-substitute Joe Hamill was there to smash home his first senior goal for the club from inside the six-yard box. It was no more than Hearts’ possession deserved, as Levein underlined afterwards.

"These kinds of ties are always potential banana skins. It was difficult but there is no doubt we were up for the match and competitive in midfield.

"I can’t fault the players. We deserved to win and did win.

"If we manage to get a decent run in the cup this season no-one will remember the fact we beat Berwick Rangers 2-0 in the third round."

Former Jambo Smith declared himself "proud" of his players’ efforts, although admitted Hearts ran out worthy winners.

"The boys gave everything they had and I have no complaints about how they went about their job," he said.

"Hearts deserved the win. Everybody knows I am a bit of a Jambo and I hope they can go on and do well in the cup this season."

Taken from the Scotsman