Hartley keeps calm amidst the storm

ALAN PATTULLO AT PITTODRIE

Aberdeen 0 Hearts 1
Hartley (60 pen)

Referee: S Dougal. Attendance: 13,055

ABERDEEN have further reason to rue Jimmy Calderwood’s adventurous spirit at Ibrox last week after relinquishing their grasp on third spot in the Premierleague on goal difference to Hearts yesterday. The five goals conceded against Rangers eight days ago continue to haunt them in a table that shows Hearts equal with Aberdeen on points but superior to them by the count of three on goal difference.

Not that too many minds were being cast back to Ibrox yesterday. Enough to be outraged about had occurred in Aberdeen’s latest outing. Suffice to say we had another sighting of a murderously-looking Jimmy Calderwood venturing on to the Pittodrie pitch at the end to perform his own inimitable post-match communion with the referee. Out comes one hand in an offer of goodwill but spilling forth from his mouth comes words presumably not so in keeping with this spirit. Then, finally, we have the finger- jabbing remonstration which ends this superbly orchestrated side-show with a flourish.

Calderwood had been irked not so much by Kevin McNaugton’s 59th-minute red card, but by Stuart Dougal’s decision to award the corner which led eventually to a passage of play completed by Robbie Neilson’s header being handled on the line by the Aberdeen defender. That the ball had appeared to have already crossed the line was one further reason for Calderwood to be miffed with the referee, but he concentrated on the corner given to Hearts after Russell Anderson’s clearance had seemed to rebound from Ramon Pereira before crossing the bye-line. "Livelihoods can be at stake over seemingly small decisions like that," he said.

Both teams were seeking to use this fixture to provide succour after dispiriting experiences on their last outings, though the game could claim a significance all of its own. Aberdeen and Hearts were keen to return to winning ways and no occasion better from which to grab this redemption than a meeting which doubled as an unofficial play-off for title of third best team in Scotland. By winning here at Pittodrie Hearts granted their new head coach, John Robertson, the thrill of being at the helm of a team able to dub themselves the best of the rest.

All of which made it all the more disappointing to observe a game so lacking in finesse and composure, particularly since the conditions, bearing in mind that this was Aberdeen in November, were approaching perfect. The controversies that came later at least offered a reason for the heart to beat quicker but it shouldn’t act to conceal the fact this was a dire encounter. And when this episode had passed - its ramifications including the conversion of the superb Paul Hartley’s winning penalty - there was little evidence it had acted to change the make-up of a game that thereafter lapsed back into its guile-less rhythm. The full-time whistle, when it blew, arrived like a benediction.

A healthy crowd had followed Hearts north to support Robertson through his first league game in charge of the team. Maybe one day he might lead his team into a match at Tynecastle, having so far seen only the dug-outs of Murrayfield and Pittodrie. Hearts’ next match is away from Tynecastle again - against Dunfermline Athletic in the CIS Cup on Wednesday.

Robertson, though, might have felt at home enough yesterday, standing arms folded by the away-dug out in the manner he has done all season while in charge of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. This was scrappy stuff, more in keeping with clubs occupying the bottom reaches of the league than the top. And as often is the case with games so fractured frustration bubbled beneath the surface like hell-broth.

And when it reached boiling point and over-flowed into outright fury the consequences were undeniably dramatic, though initially completely mystifying. The first half had left almost no tread whatsoever, with only Hartley’s free-kick from 25 yards memorable enough to require re-visiting. His finely-struck effort flicked off David Preece’s far post, and went wide. Otherwise it was a series of scrappy melees in both boxes, with last-ditch blocks from desperate defenders the order of the day. In this Neilson excelled for the visitors, as too did the returning Zander Diamond at the other end.

Half time came and went in a procession of Pittodrie legends. The likes of Jim Leighton and Joe Harper were introduced to an Aberdeen crowd glad enough to see them, but also simply delighted to have reason to cheer. The whoops turned to jeers just before the hour mark, when the game erupted in a moment which caused too many heads to be lost. Chief-sinner here was Pereira, who saw need to race threateningly towards the far-side linesman in protest at a Hearts goal not having been given when Neilson’s header looked to have been fully a yard over the line before being handled by McNaughton.

In all fairness to the linesman he seemed to signal a goal and so hardly deserved being targeted so boorishly by the Spaniard. Dougal had other ideas however and waved a red card in the face of McNaughton, before - eventually - pointing to the penalty spot. The Hearts players had clearly wanted the goal to stand, as did, strangely, the home team.

Scott Severin, the Aberdeen midfielder, later revealed he had told Dougal the ball had gone over the line before McNaughton’s reaction save. "Let’s just kick off and get on with the game," he implored the referee. Dougal was not so keen to get re-started, and while one can have sympathy with him for delaying a match so grim there was no forgiving his unseemly rush to order off McNaughton and strike-off Neilson’s goal. "He just wanted to send someone off I think," said Severin. "He got his wish."

Hartley must be complimented for ignoring all the pandemonium and striking home the winning penalty. And so too should Robertson, who almost immediately withdrew Pereira, booked for his mad-eyed protest.

Aberdeen: Preece, McGuire, Anderson, Diamond, McNaughton, Tosh (Stewart 65), Severin, Adams (Foster 65), Clark, Mackie, Whelan. Subs not used: Esson, Morrison, Tiernan, Muirhead, Considine.

Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Maybury, Stamp (MacFarlane 88), Hartley, Kisnorbo, McAllister (Hamill 76), McKenna, Pereira (Weir 61). Subs not used: Moilanen, Berra, Stewart, Wyness.

Taken from the Scotsman