Lady Luck plays the good Samaritan for Robertson

PAUL KIDDIE
AT TYNECASTLE

HEARTS boss John Robertson has had little to smile about recently amid all the uncertainty engulfing the Tynecastle club.

However, the fortunate win over Dundee United should at least go some way to convincing him that a call to the Samaritans can be put on hold for a while yet.

The Gorgie gaffer was powerless to prevent influential players Alan Maybury and Mark de Vries moving to Leicester City on the opening of the January transfer window, while Patrick Kisnorbo will also head south to the Walkers Stadium at the end of his contract in the summer.

With confirmation of what levels of cash may be at his disposal slow to materialise as a result of Vladimir Romanov’s stalled takeover bid, circumstances have conspired to deal a serious blow to Robbo’s rebuilding plans.

As the frustrated manager has admitted himself, the off-field problems have started to have an effect on the performances on the park, the Jambos having been far from their best in recent weeks.

They went into Saturday’s clash against Ian McCall’s side requiring a victory to ensure they remained in the top six, the prospect of dropping into the bottom half of the SPL a scenario almost unthinkable for the team tagged as hot favourites to finish third for the third year running just five months ago.

With Hibs proving themselves worthy contenders for the ‘best of the rest’ crown at the moment, a lot of hard work will be required for Hearts to achieve their notable hat-trick - Tony Mowbray’s men are currently nine points ahead of their arch-rivals, albeit having played a game more.

Should the Jambos manage to claw their way back into the race for Europe in the second half of the campaign, they could well reflect on the weekend victory over United as a pivotal result in their season.

To suggest to anyone who had witnessed the first 44 minutes of Saturday’s game that the home side would emerge triumphant, never mind score three goals, would have been regarded as wishful thinking at best.

As the interval approached, Hearts were trailing to Barry Robson’s 19th-minute deflected free-kick and had goalkeeper Craig Gordon to thank for still having a chance to take anything from the game.

The Scotland No.1 set the tone for an inspirational display when he denied former Gorgie target Stevie Crawford in the fifth minute as the ex-Plymouth striker looked poised to mark his debut with an early goal.

Gordon was helpless as the Tangerines broke the deadlock, Robson’s left-footed free-kick taking a wicked deflection as the ball looped high into the top right-hand corner.

With Hearts once again lacking penetration and devoid of attacking ideas, the breakthrough came as no surprise and the home side had Gordon to thank for keeping them in the game six minutes from the break. Mark Wilson’s cross into the area from the right was turned goalwards by Robson but with the ball seemingly destined for the bottom right-hand corner of the net, the Hearts keeper used all of his 6ft-plus frame to dive at full stretch to finger-tip the ball to safety.

The crowd was understandably restless and the boos were beginning to ring out as move after move came to nothing. The Gorgie faithful’s dark mood, however, changed unexpectedly 60 seconds from half-time, with United keeper Tony Bullock handing Hearts the equaliser on a plate.

Phil Stamp swung in a deep corner, Bullock came off his line and got nowhere near the ball and there was Steven Pressley to sidefoot home a rare goal from open play.

Robertson had at least been able to do some dabbling in the transfer market and brought in Lee Miller on loan from Bristol City last week.

The former Falkirk front man probably didn’t expect to be introduced to the fray so quickly but drastic measures were required from the hosts and the 21-year-old emerged for the start of the second period as Joe Hamill’s replacement.

And what a baptism! Within three minutes of taking the field for the first time in a maroon jersey he had put his side ahead. Paul Hartley’s free-kick was knocked back into the six-yard area by Kevin McKenna and Miller was in the right place at the right time to nudge home as simple a goal as he could have hoped for.

It was a swift and unlikely turnaround for the Jambos but any relief they may have felt at turning the game on its ahead evaporated five minutes later when a free-kick was rolled into the path of Alan Archibald and the defender sent a left-foot shot screaming past Gordon from fully 25 yards out.

While a point would have been a pleasing outcome for United, McCall’s men had the scent of victory in their nostrils again and Gordon pulled another save out his impressive repertoire to throw himself to his left to tip behind Mark Kerr’s 20-yard thunderbolt in the 70th minute.

While the keeper’s superb stop from Robson in the first half may be looked upon as the turning point, the actual outcome of the match hinged on a contentious decision by erratic referee Mike Ritchie.

The whistler ruled that Paul Ritchie had fouled substitute Stephen Simmons in a dangerous position some 20 yards from goal - the former Jambo and his boss were adamant he had played the ball, while Robertson conceded the award to be on the soft side.

Hearts, though, will take any slices of fortune going their way at the moment and Lady Luck ensured a further twist to an already intriguing affair with Paul Hartley’s free-kick taking a noticeable deflection off the United wall on its way past Bullock. "We didn’t get going in the first half and it took us 40 minutes to get into the game," said Robertson.

"Craig Gordon produced a fantastic save when it was 1-0 to United and that proved to the turning point for us as we scored just before half-time.

"We were fortunate to go in at the break on level terms but we picked things up in the second half, were a lot more aggressive and showed more fluency in our passing.

"We started to really test them, went ahead but then Alan Archibald equalised. Both teams had chances after that and it was us who got a wee break with the free-kick for what looked a very soft foul, if in fact it was a foul, on Stephen Simmons. Paul Hartley’s shot then took a deflection on the way into the back of the net to win the game for us.

"It could well have finished all square but it was a big three points for us in the end."

New man Miller, who is ineligible for Wednesday’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup third round replay against Partick Thistle as he wasn’t signed in time, delighted his manager with his goalscoring debut.

"It was a great start for Lee," said Robertson. "We decided at half-time it was time for him to come on and he led the line very well. He’s a striker who knows how to play the position and he was in the right place at the right time to get his goal. It will have given him and the club a big boost and I am sure the more match fit he gets in the coming weeks, the better he will be for us."

Taken from the Scotsman