Reason to be jolly as Craig's men get in the Festival mood

PAUL KIDDIE AT TYNECASTLE

NEITHER manager will attach much significance to the result. But Hearts’ triumph in the Bank of Scotland Festival Cup at least gave Craig Levein more reason to be cheerful than his Hibs counterpart Tony Mowbray.

In truth, it was a fixture which the rival bosses could have done without and the Jambos’ 3-1 victory at Tynecastle will count for little when the serious business of picking up SPL points resumes.

Why the game was actually played during the league season - and on an international weekend - beggars belief.

But having been devalued by the enforced absence of a string of top-team stars from either side due to a combination of international commitments and injuries, Saturday’s clash between the Capital’s big two was regarded as nothing more than a training match by the respective bosses.

With both line-ups well below full strength, it is unfair to read too much into the game but on the day the home side’s experience proved significant and Hearts deserved to take the spoils in defence of the trophy won last year at Easter Road.

The match, played in honour of the late Gordon Smith, offered a window of opportunity for some of the clubs’ most promising youngsters to showcase their talents, while more senior figures such as Mark de Vries and Ian Murray were able to take important steps on the road back to fitness after their injury lay-offs.

In fact, the 90 minutes which the Hibs skipper strolled through in the unaccustomed position of centre-half was one of the few crumbs of comfort for his manager on an afternoon when most of the praise was reserved for the hosts’ up-and-coming stars.

Hearts had no fewer than eight players making their first starts of the season - with Craig Sives and Calum Elliot handed their first taste of top-team action.

And while Elliot underlined his potential during the hour he was on the park, it was teenager Sives who stole the show with his first goal for the club to cap the sort of impressive performance Levein knew he was capable of.

With Christophe Berra alongside him at the back for the Under-21s last season, the pair forged a formidable partnership, and they demonstrated against Hibs that, in time, they could become seasoned SPL performers.

For Levein, there was the added bonus of De Vries making a scoring return from injury - he replaced Elliot with half-an-hour remaining for his first action since limping out of the Fulham friendly in July.

And it took the front man all of ten seconds to show exactly what Hearts have been missing this season, the Dutchman rising to head home Robert Sloan’s 60th-minute corner - his first touch of the ball!

That put the hosts 2-0 up, Sives having opened the scoring from inside the six-yard box when he steered home Michael Stewart’s cross as the interval approached.

Stephen Dobbie, who had seen an earlier strike chalked off for offside, gave Hibs a glimmer hope when he slotted home an 79th-minute penalty after Sives was adjudged to have fouled Jamie McCluskey. But Dennis Wyness ensured victory three minutes later with a cool finish after David Murphy’s attempted sliding clearance presented him with the chance.

"I was pleased to win the match," said Levein. "Hibs made a big thing about beating us in the East of Scotland Shield so I didn’t really want to lose another game to them. It was important to our supporters.

"I was pleased with the way we played. We won the game fairly comfortably and it served a purpose with us getting Mark de Vries back, some young lads playing a competitive game at Tynecastle which will stand them in good stead and Dennis getting another goal."

While Levein may have had much to be satisfied with, the match reaffirmed the fact that the depth and experience of Hibs’ squad is not what Mowbray would like - at 23, loan star Craig Rocastle was one of the ‘old heads’ in their line-up.

While the former Ipswich Town coach has an abundance of exciting youngsters at his disposal, he is all too aware that it will take time to nurture and mould them into an effective force in the SPL.

"We have got a long way to go with the youngsters at the club," said Mowbray. "They know that and it’s nothing I didn’t know already. It was evident for our fans to see on Saturday.

"I can’t criticise them for a lack of effort but as young footballers they have to learn the game and we’ve been saying that from day one.

"We all know the number of players we had missing.Okay I appreciate that Hearts had players missing, too but I felt it was a chance for our youngsters to show me what they can do and they missed that chance."

Despite his disappointment at the weekend, the Easter Road boss is confident he is on the right track, particularly with his captain on the mend.

However, he did acknowledge that defending set pieces continues to cause him headaches.

"I thought Ian Murray did fine and he’ll get better the more games he plays," said Mowbray.

"We’re looking forward to having him back. It was evident against Hearts that he was a first-team player in amongst some young lads on a big occasion for them.

"We concede a lot of goals through balls into our box. But if you are 6ft 4in and the guy who’s marking you is 5ft 10in and the ball comes into the box you have a fair chance of getting your head onto it.

"I don’t want to keep repeating myself but I know I have to add that to our club. I am aware of that and it’s not something new to me.

"I know what it takes to win games of football and I know why you lose games. We will get there over the piece."

Mowbray, of course, was referring to the lack of sufficient height in his side to combat the considerable threat of De Vries. Levein on the other hand was just delighted to have his top scorer from last season back in the reckoning for what is a massive month for the Jambos with vital SPL games, CIS Cup and UEFA Cup action looming on the horizon.

"We have started the season fairly well without Mark and that is a credit to the players," he said.

"But there is no doubt he is a big loss. He was our top goalscorer for the last couple of years. His strength gets us up the park at times when we’re under pressure. He defends well and is obviously a threat in the opposition box at set pieces.

"It was good to see him back on the field. He is still a long way away from being match fit but he’ll play some part of the game against Rangers and we’ll try to have him as close to being right for the Braga match."

The players did their best to make it a meaningful afternoon but the crowd of barely 7000 - there was a boycott organised by Save Our Hearts - told another story.

If, as is hoped, the Festival Cup is to become a permanent fixture in the years ahead, then more thought will have to be put in to finding a more sensible date.

Taken from the Scotsman