Hartley and Miller sneak it for Hearts

STUART BATHGATE
AT ALMONDVALE

Livingston 1
Lilley (74)

Hearts 2
Hartley (85), Miller (86)

Referee: K Clark. Attendance: 4,318

TWO late goals gave Hearts three valuable points last night after Derek Lilley’s opener had looked like giving Livingston the victory. The game was virtually non-existent as an aesthetic spectacle, but that was at best a secondary concern to John Robertson, whose team are now just a point behind fourth-placed Aberdeen, their opponents at Tynecastle on Saturday.

It was a commendable fightback from a team who had looked sadly lacking in creativity, and owed much to the drive of Paul Hartley. Craig Gordon, however, also deserves some of the credit, as Hearts would have gone 2-0 down with eight minutes to play but for the goalkeeper’s acrobatic save from Craig Easton.

Richard Gough responded to Saturday’s humiliating home loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle by making six changes to his starting line-up, the most significant addition being Mark Wilson, who was signed on loan from Middlesbrough on Monday. Goalkeeper Colin Meldrum was dropped and replaced by Roddy McKenzie, Stuart Lovell and Jim Hamilton also lost their places, as did the Macedonian Goran Stanic and two of the three Hungarians who had started in that 4-1 defeat.

There was a more familiar look to Robertson’s selection, with only two changes from the 11 who started the weekend draw at Dens Park - Joe Hamill for Ramon Pereira and Steven Simmons for the injured Phil Stamp. There was a novel look to the Hearts bench, however, as it included Saulius Mikoliunas, one of the two Lithuanians who joined following the New Year training camp, and Halmar Thorarinsson, the Icelandic teenager who was deservedly promoted after scoring five goals in three appearances for the reserves.

The other John Robertson, the Celtic assistant coach, was present in the stands, primarily to watch the Hearts midfielder Hartley. Hearts have made it plain they want to hold on to their playmaker, who has 18 months of his contract to run, and it now appears to be up to Celtic to follow up their informal inquiry with a concrete offer.

It was Hartley who had the first on-target effort of the match, a free-kick in a central position, awarded for a trip on Simmons, which was too soft and too close to McKenzie. Simmons himself had a chance moments later, but the home goalkeeper was alert enough to rush out and block the shot.

McKenzie apart, the Livingston defence looked unsure of itself, but going forward the West Lothian club were more confident. Burton O’Brien set James McPake up on the left, and although the striker’s shot went harmlessly past it was one of several signs in the opening quarter of an hour that the match was not going to be one-way traffic.

Hearts continued to enjoy the greater share of possession as the match wore on, but they displayed the same failing which had been evident three days earlier - an inability to turn decent approach work into clear-cut chances. Lee Miller, who had provided the assist for Hamill’s equaliser against Dundee, looked a touch out of sorts, and Dennis Wyness, his striking colleague in a 4-4-2 formation, has never been convincing as an out-and-out frontman.

That much was illustrated in the 32nd minute, when the former Inverness player was inches away from making a connection which might well have opened the scoring. A throw-in from Robbie Neilson was headed on strongly towards goal by Andy Webster, and, with McKenzie struggling to cover it, the slightest change of direction could have sent the ball into the net. It was a difficult chance, but one which those who have the natural predatory instinct of the striker tend to take.

Those who witnessed the no-scoring draw between the clubs at Tynecastle earlier in the season may have presumed they would have been in no danger of witnessing such tedious fare again. By the time referee Kenny Clark put the first half out of its misery, however, that possibility was looming ever larger.

Five minutes after the restart, a woeful mis-hit over the bar by Simmons suggested that the second half might be just as bad. With the game still scoreless the break might have been too early for alterations in personnel, but there was no reason for both sides not to reform their approach to the game.

Webster became the first player to be booked after fouling Lilley, and Gus Bahoken soon followed for an offence against Miller. If nothing else, those incidents were proof that the game was being more keenly contested, but it was calling out for brain in addition to brawn.

The first change of the evening saw one defender, Stanic, come on for another, Bahoken. Robertson was more positive, though, introducing both Mikoliunas and Thorarinsson for their debuts. The double swap galvanised Hearts momentarily, but it was Livingston who broke the deadlock at last. A dink through by O’Brien was handled by Jamie McAllister, but a good advantage allowed Lilley to nip in and nick the ball past Gordon.

Just as Livingston looked to have done enough to secure an unlikely win, Hearts struck twice in quick succession. First Hartley scored direct from a free-kick given after he had been fouled by Easton, and then Miller rose to nod in a Hamill cross.

Livingston: McKenzie, Dorado, Bahoken (Stanic 62), Rubio, Wilson, Dair, Kriston (Easton 71), O’Brien, Hand, McPake (Horvath 76), Lilley. Subs: Meldrum, Vincze, Brittain, Snodgrass.

Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Webster (McKenna 71), Pressley, McAllister, MacFarlane, Hartley, Simmons (Mikoliunas 67), Hamill, Wyness (Thorarinsson 67), Miller. Subs: Moilanen, Stewart, Berra, Elliot.

Taken from the Scotsman