Hartley fronts up for Hearts

MOIRA GORDON AT TYNECASTLE

IF you were comparing Hearts to a model, it would definitely be the catwalk variety. They know how to strut their stuff but have nowhere near enough up front to turn heads in the glamour industry.

Mark De Vries was the latest addition to the list of injured strikers, picking up a foot injury against Kilmarnock midweek, and joining the likes of Ramon Pereira and auxiliary frontmen Kevin McKenna and Stephen Simmons on the sidelines. It left Dennis Wyness looking pretty lonely and forlorn yesterday.

But when you’ve got midfielders brimming with as much confidence as Paul Hartley is these days, and a back line as miserly as Craig Levein’s men, the absence of so many attacking options is not felt as keenly as it might be.

It was the combination of those factors which gave the home team maximum points yesterday. Hartley, who has now scored in his past three starts, and has been touted for a place in the Scotland squad, was the beneficiary when Inverness indulged in sheer sloppiness at the back. The slack passing allowed the Hearts man to intercept just inside the away team’s half and dart in on goal, drawing the goalkeeper before chipping him for a beautiful goal. That was in the 16th minute but it might as well have been the 90th for all the likelihood there was of John Roberston’s men coming back at them.

The Highlanders’ manager was lauded by the home support, who dusted down some old Robbo favourites and demanded he give them a wave, but even he, in his prime, might have struggled against this Hearts defence. A dogged, tight unit, ably protected by the deep-lying Patrick Kisnorbo, and directed by Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, there is little messing about. Inverness tried getting three men up and at them in an effort to exploit any gaps but they couldn’t find any.

Fighting on three fronts with the CIS Cup victory over Kilmarnock and this Thursday’s UEFA Cup tie with Braga sandwiching this Premierleague encounter, the most significant factor was the result, but that didn’t stop an agitated Levein from barracking his charges almost continuously. It is a measure of the level of expectation within this club now that even winning is no longer enough. Against a cash-strapped team that is propping up the league, and showed little to suggest they will move any further up the standings as the campaign plays itself out, the manager obviously wanted more.

The passing was not as sharp or as precise as it has been, and some of decision-making was peppered with errors. That may have been good enough to still give them victory against the Premierleague newcomers but against Braga, they could leave themselves in all kinds of schtook. Which is probably why there was so much edginess on in the home dugout.

On the pitch, though, Hearts always looked in control of this one. In the second minute, Stuart Golabek had a shot for Inverness after Phil Stamp lost the ball in midfield. Then, with only a matter of minutes left in the match, the left-back ventured forward for another effort that screeched just off-target. In between, chances for the visitors proved few and far between, although it wasn’t for want of trying.

In the 12th minute, former Hearts entertainer Juanjo ran past Andy Webster and left Steven Pressley stumbling in his wake as he homed in on goal, but young Gordon was quick off his line, diving at the Spaniard’s feet to nick the ball off his toes.

At the other end, Jamie McAllister, who along with Joe Hamill on the opposing wing was charged with the task of getting up in quick support of Wyness, had a fifth-minute shot saved by Mark Brown, and directed a header straight at the goalkeeper eight minutes later. But given the strengths and weaknesses of the home team, a multitude of goalmouth talking points was always unlikely.

Having secured the points, though, with Hartley’s exquisite 16th-minute goal, the priority was simply to come through the rest of the game unscathed. They managed that and now minds can be turned to the task which awaits them in Portugal. The right result there would see the capital side progress to the group stages, rewarding them financially but also giving themselves the well-earned right to pit their wits against better opposition that Inverness. It exactly what they have been working towards.

"I can’t take a lot more from that than the fact we won," said Levein afterwards, reporting that although Pressley had taken a knock to the face and McAllister had been dunted in the back, both should be okay for Thursday’s trials.

"We didn’t pass the ball and didn’t play well, but come the end of the season there will be plenty when we did and didn’t get the result. I know we’ll be up for Thursday and I know the energy levels we’ll have. Today we ended up changing the system. We had to because we’ve only got five strikers and four of them are injured. I’m just hoping we can get some of them back for Thursday."

Pereira looks the best bet, although De Vries will travel in the hope he can do enough to make it on to the bench. Without those options, it could be a long, nervy night for Hearts.

Taken from the Scotsman