Pat's the way to do it!

By PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS hero Patrick Kisnorbo today spoke of his joy at grabbing his first goal for the club in the UEFA Cup victory over Braga, the Aussie insisting: "I may not score a more important one."

The midfield star smashed home an injury-time shot to complete a 3-1 triumph over the Portuguese in the first round, first leg showdown at Murrayfield and put the Jambos on the threshold of a £2 million jackpot from the group stages.

It was his first goal in 45 games for Hearts since his arrival from South Melbourne last summer and he admitted it’s a moment which will live with him forever.

"The ball fell kindly for me from Paul Hartley’s corner, I took a touch and then just blasted it into the back of the net," he said.

"I couldn’t believe it when I saw it go in. I have been waiting a long time for my first goal for Hearts and I could never have imagined it would come in such an important game.

"I suppose it could prove to be one the club’s most valuable goals if we can do our jobs properly in the second leg.

"Qualifying for the group stages is so important to Hearts with everything that has been going on here.

"What an achievement it would be if we could get through and that would be something to be really proud of."

Following his dream strike, Kisnorbo paid tribute to the fans who helped spur the players on by creating an electric atmosphere inside Murrayfield.

"I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the noise they made and it was a real inspiration to run out and see them all there," he said.

"I didn’t think the atmosphere would be as good as Tynecastle but it was brilliant last night and hopefully even more fans will come along if we get through.

"But we have to put those thoughts out of our minds now. It is back to business of picking up league points and we are at Dunfemline on Sunday and there is always a danger of things going wrong when you come off a high like last night."

Levein is delighted to be taking a two-goal cushion to Braga in a fortnight’s time, although he feared the third goal was not going to materialise as the seconds ticked away.

"I was beginning to think the third goal wasn’t going to come," he said.

"We were leading 2-0 and our tails were up. But They scored against the run of play and really knocked the wind out of our sails and for 10 minutes or so the pattern of play we’d used for the first part of the game went out the window.

"We sat too deep and alloewed Braga to come back into it. But the players have great character and belief.

"Phil Stamp almost scored and Dennis Wyness came close right at the death. We kept going, though, and have given ourselves a chance for the second leg."

Taken from the Scotsman