Hearts remain on the ball to triumph over spirited Dons

HEARTS 1 - 0 ABERDEEN

PAUL KIDDIE AT TYNECASTLE

AS the Hearts fans belted out the now familiar chants for the removal of under-fire chief executive Chris Robinson at various stages during the visit of Aberdeen, it was clear their minds were not entirely focused on what was a vital league clash for the Jambos.

Fortunately for the Gorgie faithful, the players were able to blank out everything which is going on off the pitch to record an important win, last night’s victory opening up a significant five-point gap over nearest rivals Dunfermline in the race for third place, with the Fifers having played a game more.

With all the recent headlines concerning the board’s decision to play next season’s games at Murrayfield and then the shock revelation that Scottish Media Group are said to be ready to sell their 20 per cent stake in the club - a move which has prompted talk of a takeover bid which would see the SRU groundshare plan shelved amid sweeping changes in the boardroom - the backdrop to the clash could easily have been distracting for Craig Levein’s side.

Therefore with such uncertainty hanging over the club, the men in maroon deserve credit for the way they went about their business against an in-form Aberdeen side, Steven Pressley’s penalty kick ten minutes from time enough to give them the win they probably just deserved on the balance of play.

"Football wise I thought we deserved to win the match which is the most important thing because it’s the only thing myself and the players can influence," said Levein, who would not be drawn on developments off the field.

"I was pleased as I felt we did just enough to win it, although Aberdeen defended very well."

It was important that Hearts didn’t suffer from a Tennent’s Scottish Cup hangover after the poor display against Celtic at the weekend and the manner in which the home side began the match certainly demonstrated they didn’t appear to be feeling any ill-effects.

They dominated the first half and really should have put the game beyond the visitors before the interval thanks to some confident football which helped create a handful of opportunities.

As early as the sixth minute Patrick Kisnorbo found himself in great position in the Aberdeen box as he moved onto the end of a cross from the left hand side by Robert Sloan, the Australian’s left-foot volley sailing over the top.

Levein handed youth its chance again in midfield with both Sloan and Joe Hamill earning starting berths on each flank and it was the latter who put the ball on a plate for Mark de Vries on the edge of the six-yard area, only for the Dutchman to send his header down off the turf and up over the bar with the goal seemingly at his mercy.

The hosts continued to dominate proceedings and a clever chip from Sloan opened up a chance for Paul Hartley but his net-bound shot was deflected behind by Zander Diamond, although referee Stuart Dougal failed to spot the vital touch from the defender.

Three minutes from the break and Hearts had the first of three strong penalty claims when a surging run by Hartley came to end when he went down under a challenge from Kevin McNaughton. Play on said Dougal.

Moments later De Vries set up Phil Stamp after some clever close control with his back to goal, the Englishman firing narrowly wide as he burst forward and on the stroke of half-time the midfielder sent another powerful shot goalwards, this time Preece collecting without too much fuss.

"You tend to find that if you go a goal up early on in an SPL match, you generally go on to be comfortable winners," said Levein. "It is impossible to say but I think given the tempo we started at, had we scored early, we’d have gone on to win quite comfortably.

"We had Aberdeen rocking at that stage but just couldn’t find the punch to put them down."

With Robbie Neilson on for the injured Alan Maybury at the break, the game continued to flow towards Preece immediately after the restart, the substitute setting up De Vries whose first-time shot flew well over.

The longer the game wore on without the stalemate being broken, though, the more the Dons seemed to fancy their chances and there were some close calls for Hearts in front of Craig Gordon, whose handling had to be excellent all night. With 55 minutes on the clock, Leigh Hinds had a good chance but fired his angled shot inches wide of the right-hand post before Paul Sheerin shot over from distance.

These efforts were split by another Hearts spot-kick claim after De Vries went down under a challenge from Russell Anderson. Again no joy from Dougal.

Kisnorbo was then denied by Preece diving full length to his right to turn his drive behind before Zdrilic (twice) and Sheerin should have done better with opportunities.

There may have been goals flying in across the country in the SPL but the 11,236 fans at Tynecastle had to make do with just the solitary strike by the home side and it came from the spot after De Vries again went down in the area, Diamond being the culprit on this occasion.

This time Douglas decreed it was a penalty and up stepped captain cool himself, Pressley sending Preece the wrong way to earn the Jambos a vital three points in their quest for Europe. "For all the good stuff we showed in the first half we actually got to the stage after an hour or so that Aberdeen started thinking to themselves it could be their night," said Levein

"They had a couple of opportunities and we could have lost a goal. But had that been the case I think it would have been a bit harsh."

Last night’s match marked the start of a huge month in the league for Hearts with another five games still to come before the end of February - the postponed clash with Livingston has been rescheduled for a week on Tuesday at Almondvale.

Next up is the derby at Easter Road on Sunday - and 90 minutes when the players will be hoping the fans leave their protests at home.

Taken from the Scotsman