Hearts 1 - 0 Aberdeen

Alan Campbell at Tynecastle

AT 2.57pm yesterday, Vladimir Romanov appeared in the directors’ box at Tynecastle. Almost two hours later the Lithuanian, who on Friday is expected to assume ownership of Hearts, clenched his fists in the air to acknowledge a home victory.

Welcome to Scottish football, Mr R. This wasn’t pretty, and Aberdeen were denied what appeared a legitimate equaliser near the end, but both sets of players and supporters provided the passion which Romanov says persuaded him to invest heavily in the Edinburgh club.

A Dennis Wyness penalty settled the issue, and allowed Hearts to swap places with their visitors in the Premierleague. But if Romanov’s intention is to compete on level terms with the Old Firm, he will have realised after this scrappy 90 minutes that much of his personal fortune will have to be bestowed on Hearts – and not just to keep them at Tynecastle.

John Robertson is not the type to tug the forelock, and said his decision to give a starting debut to Romanov’s fellow Lithuanian, Saulius Mikoliunas, was based on the left midfielder impressing as a substitute against Livingston in midweek. Lee Miller again started, but Robertson’s Friday signing, Mark Burchill, was left on the bench.

The most worrying absentee for the home side, though, was top scorer Paul Hartley. The midfielder has been badly unsettled by Hearts’ refusal to do business with Celtic, and although a hamstring twinge was cited, a written transfer request suggests that, like Barry Ferguson at Blackburn, he has his mind set on a move to Glasgow.

Aberdeen, facing Hearts in the 100th league match between the two since the Premierleague was introduced, were without former Tynecastle midfielder Scott Severin. Recent signing from Leeds, Jamie Winter, lined up in the centre of midfield alongside Markus Heikkinen.

Thanks to the Alex Ferguson era, Aberdeen held a slight edge over the previous 99 games and Hearts had a further incentive, knowing that a win would reduce the margin between them and idle rivals Hibs to five points.

After a promising opening, there was little for Walter Smith, Romanov or anybody else in the ground to enthuse about in the first half. The play, syphoned through the middle, deteriorated into a series of misplaced passses and other unforced errors. The 19-year-old Winter, though, looked a decent find for Aberdeen, while Mikoliunas, a year older and a full Lithuanian internationalist, worked tirelessly and could prove to be an asset.

The other feature of the opening 45 minutes was the ridiculous posturing of Noel Whelan, whose feeble efforts to act the hard-man got him booked in 33 minutes and forced Jimmy Calderwood to withdraw him in the second period. The English striker compounded his folly by missing Aberdeen’s best chance of the game when he took down a Kevin McNaughton cross in the 44th minute but couldn’t hit the target with a close-range shot.

The best striker on view was Miller, who frequently got the better of Russell Anderson in the air and showed enough deft touches to promise better when he is fully match fit. The former Falkirk player came close in the 27th minute when Wyness, taking advantage of a Michael Hart slip, slung over a cross which Miller glanced just wide of the post.

In injury time, just after Whelan’s miss for Aberdeen, Wyness came even closer. Joe Hamill took a free-kick which Miller knocked back across goal and his fellow striker attempted an overhead kick which rattled the bar before referee Mike McCurry blew for half-time.

The second half, mercifully, was more eventful and the born-again Baptist in the black found himself in the thick of it.

In the 62nd minute there was contact between Whelan and Steven Pressley in the Aberdeen box and McCurry pointed to the spot. Whelan lost the plot, jabbing at Pressley and, when the Hearts skipper walked away, tried to mix it with other Hearts players. Amid madness, Wyness calmly slotted home the penalty, and when Whelan continued to mouth off at Elvis before the restart, Calderwood wisely hooked him.

Later the English striker continued his tantrum, accusing Pressley of cheating; his manager took a more considered view of the incident while reserving the right to watch a television replay.

Minutes later Hearts could have had another penalty, as Winter scythed down Stephen Simmons in the box, but McCurry waved play on.

Five minutes from the end came the real controversy. Hart’s lovely 25-yard chip almost beat Craig Gordon, but the goalkeeper touched the ball against the bar and it rebounded out to Steven Craig, who placed it in the net.

To the mystification of all, he was flagged offside. Aberdeen were incensed, but it was later explained that two Dons players were infringing before Hart’s chip. Had it gone in, the goal would have stood, but as it didn’t both players were judged to be interfering with play.

Taken from the Sunday Herald