Wyness leaves it late to deny Partick

MIKE AITKEN
AT TYNECASTLE

Hearts 2 MacFarlane (34), Wyness (88)
Partick Thistle 1 One (8)

Referee: C Mackay. Attendance: 7,340

PERSPIRATION rather than inspiration enabled Hearts to savour the prospect of hosting Kilmarnock in the fourth round of the Tennent’s Scottish Cup after goals from Neil MacFarlane and Dennis Wyness helped the Edinburgh side come from behind to eliminate Partick Thistle last night in a scrappy third-round replay.

Although they had far more of the ball and enjoyed the services of the peerless Paul Hartley, Hearts were dogged by old failings in front of goal and were forced to live on their nerves near the end. That said, there was no questioning either Hearts’ energy or endeavour and in the end sheer force of will ensured the SPL side remained in the competition.

"We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and when Thistle scored early on, that allowed them to defend in depth," said head coach John Robertson. "I thought two questionable refereeing decisions cost us goals, but we got back on to level terms and made a lot of chances in the second-half. We got a break for the winner, but I felt we thoroughly deserved to win against a good Thistle side."

Well served by centre-back Adrian Madaschi, who was man of the match in the first game, it was cruel on Thistle that Hearts’ winner two minutes from the end could be partly attributed to a slip from the Australian and the former Tynecastle player Grant Murray.

Having taken the lead through Armand One early on, Partick always posed a threat at set-pieces thanks to excellent deliveries from Derek Fleming. The consolation for manager Dick Campbell is that his side don’t look like Second Division material. In fact, throughout three hours of combat with Hearts, there wasn’t much to choose between the sides. "I’m gutted," rued Campbell. "I thought we deserved something from the game. But if we take this attitude into our league form then we’ll not get beaten too often."

Bearing in mind how the first game was also played in a gale at Firhill, the return of strong winds sorely limited the emphasis on silky soccer. While the challenge of blowing away First Division opposition was asking a lot of a side whose forwards have struggled to score goals for most of the season, Hearts at least tried to be positive and asked Ramon Pereira to break from the left flank while Wyness offered Kevin McKenna support through the middle. Willingness, though, is no substitute for a cutting edge.

The gangling presence of One up front for Thistle, on the other hand, must have caused a few home supporters to blink and wonder if they were watching the recently-departed Mark de Vries fill one of Partick’s XXL jerseys rather than Leicester’s colours. With the more mobile Spaniard, Juan Escalas, operating alongside the Frenchman, Thistle’s Mediterranean strike force was unsettling enough to ensure Steven Pressley and Andy Webster were as attentive as if they were facing SPL opposition.

Pressley, in fact, was forced to stop Escalas by illegal means as early as the fourth minute, when the striker was eased into a dangerous area by a strong run from Jean-Yves Anis. Escalas took the 20-yard free-kick himself but his shot thudded into the defensive wall and was cleared easily.

Thistle’s opening goal, though, was only delayed until the eighth minute, when a superb inswinging corner from Fleming was pushed on to the crossbar by Craig Gordon. Once the ball rebounded into play, One had the simple task of nodding a close-range header past the young Hearts keeper.

Hearts felt they should have been on level terms on 21 minutes when a marginal offside decision ruled out an opportunist strike from Hartley. Phil Stamp had delivered the through ball, Wyness the flick on and, with only Kenny Arthur to beat, Hearts’ top scorer stabbed the ball into the net. The midfielder appeared to have timed his run well, leaving Robertson to remonstrate with the fourth official.

There was another disallowed effort after 30 minutes when Wyness prodded a low shot into the net from Pereira’s cut-back. On this occasion at least, the referee’s assistant made up his mind quickly and flagged down Pereira for allowing the ball to cross the bye-line. The Spaniard was adamant he’d kept it in play.

In the circumstances, Hearts just about deserved their 34th-minute equaliser. Stamp’s floated corner-kick to the near post was won in the air by Robbie Neilson and MacFarlane reacted quickly enough to score his first goal of the season from four yards.

Having finished the first-half with a flurry - Stamp and Hartley created room for Wyness, who chose the wrong option and shot wide - Hearts were keen to maintain what momentum they had going for them. While, if anything, the wind whistled through the stadium with even more force after the interval, Hartley showed the value of keeping the ball on the ground when he played a sweet one-two with Wyness in the 48th minute. Just 60 seconds later, Hearts’ most creative footballer broke clear and was disappointed when a crisp shot from the edge of the box was blown over the bar.

While Hearts enjoyed the bulk of possession, there wasn’t that much to choose between the sides. In fact, the best shot of the tie was struck by One in the 53rd minute from 20 yards. The hosts were relieved that Gordon, the Scotland goalkeeper, saw it coming and tipped the powerful strike over the bar.

Although both sides rolled up their sleeves in search of the goal that would win the replay in normal time, it was the persistence of the home side which eventually decided this marathon. McKenna supplied the cross from the right which Murray missed, leaving Wyness with enough time to take a touch before showing good composure and slipping the ball past Arthur in the 88th minute.

Hearts: Gordon, Pressley, McKenna, Webster, Wyness, Stamp, Hartley, MacFarlane (Simmons 71), Neilson, McAllister, Pereira (Hamill 71). Subs not used: Moilanen, Weir, Berra.

Partick Thistle: Arthur, Anis (A Gibson 77), Milne, Murray, Madaschi, Dowie (Fulton 72), B Gibson, One, Ramon, Ross, Fleming. Subs not used: Pinkowski, Hinds, Strachan.

Taken from the Scotsman