Hartley fires out a timely reminder to Scotland boss

PAUL KIDDIE AT TYNECASTLE

PROSPECTIVE new Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov dispatched representatives to watch the Jambos defeat Kilmarnock in the CIS Cup at Tynecastle - hopefully Scotland boss Berti Vogts did the same.

The Lithuanians were back in the Capital as discussions continue over a possible buy-out and they watched as Paul Hartley put the visitors to the sword with another impressive display.

The 27-year-old has been a revelation for the Gorgie outfit since moving into central midfield and his two-goal salvo last night gave another nudge to Vogts, who surely can’t ignore for much longer Hartley’s claims to involvement in the World Cup qualifying campaign. Boss Craig Levein stopped short of telling the German his job after his side’s 2-1 victory secured a place in Saturday’s quarter-final draw but international recognition cannot be far away for the former Raith, Hibs and St Johnstone star.

Under-fire Vogts has used upwards of 80 players in a bid to strike a winning formula since taking over from Craig Brown, his net being cast the length and breadth of the country in a desperate bid to unearth some hidden gems.

But perhaps the answer lies closer to home in the shape of Hartley, whose contribution to Hearts’ recent success has yet to be recognised.

The player is currently enjoying the best form of his career and Levein, who drew comparisons with former Jambos skipper Colin Cameron, said: "Paul is just getting better and better. He is a wonderful footballer whose attitude and work rate is second to none.

"He has real quality, scored two good goals last night and was generally a threat in the middle of the park.

"He’s playing as good a central midfield role at this club as I have seen for a long time. His penetrating runs remind me of Colin Cameron at his best.

"That’s high praise but he deserves it for the way he is playing just now. It’s not for me to say he should be called up but he’s playing well enough."

Hartley smashed a wonderful goal in the UEFA Cup win over Braga at Murrayfield last week and continued in a similar vein against Jim Jefferies’ outfit.

The midfielder was one of five changes made by the home side following the disappointing defeat to Dunfermline on Sunday. Alan Maybury, Patrick Kisnorbo, Joe Hamill and Mark de Vries also returned to the starting line-up with Craig Sives, Phil Stamp, Neil Janczyk, Neil MacFarlane and Michael Stewart all missing out.

With a more familiar look to the starting XI, the hosts were a far more solid unit and should have had the tie wrapped up by half-time.

The tone for the opening period was set after just five minutes when a looping cross from the right from Robbie Neilson fell to Patrick Kisnorbo. Although the Aussie’s shot was blocked, the rebound fell kindly for De Vries who scooped the ball over the top from inside the six-yard box.

Killie hadn’t been seen as an attacking force in the early exchanges and it came as no surprise when Hearts went ahead in the 15th minute - and the scorer should not have surprised the fans either.

Jamie McAllister played a corner from the right to Joe Hamill outside the box. The youngster showed poor control in allowing the ball to run under his feet as it came across him but Hartley was alert to the situation and pounced to send a 20-yard shot whistling past Alan Combe.

Shortly after there was a worrying moment for Levein when De Vries went down in agony having been caught by studs on the top of his foot as he cleared upfield.

Although he was able to finish the half following treatment he failed to appear after the break, with fears over whether he will be fit for the UEFA Cup return against Braga in Portugal next week uppermost in Levein’s mind.

The Dutchman’s removal upset the hosts’ balance, Robert Sloan having stepped off the bench to replace him. And although they were given a much tougher ride in the second half from a more lively Kilmarnock side, the contest should have been over by the turnaround.

The main culprit was Dennis Wyness, whose poor finishing was symptomatic of a striker lacking confidence.

He disappointed on his first start of the season at East End Park at the weekend and was again out of sorts last night.

He should have tested Combe in the 34th minute only to slice his effort wide after bursting into the area and three minutes later the keeper got down quickly to block after the front man had done well to create another shooting chance for himself.

Despite Hearts’ domination, they had Craig Gordon to thank for going in on level terms, the Scotland keeper reacting well to turn behind Danny Invincibile’s close-range shot in stoppage time.

With the half-time team talk still ringing in their ears, it was perhaps not surprising that the visitors came out strongly, Gordon called into action three times in the space of three minutes to twice deny Invincibile and then Craig Dargo.

Moments later, though, Hearts engineered a second goal, Hamill threading a delightful ball through the Kilmarnock defence for Hartley, whose perfectly-timed run was only matched by his cool finish. Wyness looked set to make it three in the 55th minute but inexplicably stopped in his tracks as a through-ball picked him out in space behind the Killie defence, the striker later admitting he thought he was offside.

Sixty seconds later and the complexion of the third-round tie changed when Peter Leven reduced the deficit with a well taken goal.

Despite losing their way somewhat after that, Hearts always looked like having enough in the tank to get through, Maybury in fact coming close on two occasions to restoring the two-goal advantage, but Combe was equal to both his efforts.

"I was pleased to get through," said Levein. "We played some really good stuff and were miles on top in the first half."

Ref watch

POOR display from HUGH DALLAS whose performance was best summed up when he stopped play for a second half substitution - except neither manager was wanting to make changes!

Top shot

PAUL HARTLEY followed up his stunning strike against Braga in the UEFA Cup with another magnificent effort from distance to open the scoring.

Top save

HAVING been a virtual spectator for most of the first half, CRAIG GORDON reacted well to deflect Danny Invincibile’s stoppage-time shot behind.

The supporters' view

Daniel Hunter, Riccarton: "A solid performance from Hearts. Hartley took his goals well. An important win for the club."

Sam Edwards, Gorgie: "We made a very good start but faded as the match wore on. Paul Hartley was excellent."

Craig Kelly, Newington: "We made very heavy weather of it against an ordinary Kilmarnock team. A good result."

Darren Hall, Fountainbridge: "It was a decent performance especially after Sunday’s showing. The second half was a struggle though. We lack real leadership on the park."

Michael Wells, Fountainbridge: "We dominated for long spells without creating many chances. We were deserved winners on the balance of play."

Andrew Hill, Haymarket: "We were far too complacent at 2-0. We became very slack defensively and gave away possession far to easily. We did well to hold on in the end."

Brian Wise, Prestonfield: "We did well in the first half but looked sluggish in the second half."

Taken from the Scotsman