Tears but no souvenirs as Marc delivers a CIS of death

PAUL KIDDIE
AT EASTER ROAD

Motherwell 3
Craigan (20), Foran (78), Fitzpatrick (120)

Hearts 2
Burchill (85), Thorarinsson (90)

IF medals were awarded for guts and character then John Robertson’s Hearts side would be worthy recipients.

Such attributes, however, do not guarantee success and there will be no souvenirs from Hampden next month either after the Jambos’ heart-breaking defeat by Motherwell in the CIS Cup semi-final.

Trailing 2-0 with time running out, Robertson had watched his men claw their way back into the last-four showdown at Easter Road, the men in maroon somehow summoning the effort to smash two goals in the last five minutes to force the tie into extra-time.

Then, just when it looked like the 14,069 crowd would be forced to sit through a nailbiting penalty shoot-out, super-sub Marc Fitzpatrick pounced with virtually the last kick of the ball to kill off the Gorgie outfit’s dream.

It must have been hard for Robertson to express just how it felt to lose out in such a cruel fashion but with the disappointment of defeat still etched on his face moments after the final whistle, he put a brave face on things.

"It was tough to take in a match which I thought had everything," he said. "I thought the least we deserved was to take the tie to penalty kicks but it wasn’t to be. We looked dead and buried at 2-0 down after getting caught with a classic sucker punch on the break which lead to the penalty.

"But the character and pride which this team has saw them claw their way back into the game. The backing from the Hearts fans was tremendous and we’re just sorry we couldn’t take them to Hampden for a cup final."

While the Jambos’ resilience has to be applauded, it appears old habits die hard. Last night’s match was the sixth occasion in the last eight games when Hearts have had to fight their way back into proceedings after conceding the opening goal.

They managed to overcome such failings to come through a hectic January schedule unbeaten, in the process securing a fourth-round tie at home to Kilmarnock in the Tennent’s Scottish Cup and march menacingly into fourth place in the SPL.

This latest deficit, though, proved a task too far with Motherwell claiming their first League Cup final appearance in 50 years. At 2-0 down, Hearts left themselves with just too much to do and their brave efforts ultimately counted for nothing.

The Jambos backline, so effective in recent outings, for once looked suspect at the Steelmen’s 20th-minute opener, Stephen Craigan allowed too much space to head home from close range after Steven Hammell’s free-kick had picked him out just three yards from the goal.

Hearts were finally seen as an attacking threat as the half-hour passed, Paul Hartley lashing a shot wide of target from the edge of the area.

Moments later Gordon Marshall saved well from the recalled Hartley after good work from Dennis Wyness down the left, Hammell booting the ball clear before Hearts’ Joe Hamill could pounce.

Galvanised by falling behind, Hearts came within a whisker of going in at the break on level terms, the lively and creative Wyness seeing his flick over Marshall from the tightest of angles cleared off the line on the stroke of half-time.

The positive response continued after the break and the industrious Saulius Mikoliunas saw a left-foot shot deflected agonisingly wide of Marshall’s left-hand post within 30 seconds of the restart.

Wyness had been Hearts’ best player but Robertson surprisingly withdrew the striker on the hour mark in favour of new signing Mark Burchill, the former Celt having made his debut in the weekend win over Aberdeen after signing from Portsmouth.

With the Jambos beginning to turn the screw, Hamill brought out the best in Marshall, the keeper diving full length to his right to get a hand to the winger’s well-struck shot from fully 20 yards out.

However, just as it seemed Hearts were destined to carve out a deserved equaliser, disaster struck 12 minutes from time as Motherwell broke upfield. Scott McDonald was sent tumbling in the box by Jamie McAllister and Richie Foran stepped up to send Craig Gordon the wrong way.

That was that, or so we all thought. But as this Hearts side has shown on numerous occasions in the past, it doesn’t know when it is beaten and seven minutes from time Burchill was in the right place at the right time to smash home a loose ball after a free-kick from Stephen Simmons had fallen kindly to him six yards out.

David Clarkson then had a golden opportunity to tie the game up in regular time but somehow contrived to scoop McDonald’s cut-back over the bar when it looked simpler to score.

The sight of fourth official Craig Thomson signalling four minutes of stoppage time gave the Gorgie faithful renewed hope but even then the odds seemed stacked against a successful comeback.

Enter the iceman. Up-and-coming 18-year-old Hjalmar Thorarinsson had replaced Hamill and the Icelandic striker showed a cool head beyond his years to slot home Hartley’s cutback and keep alive his side’s Hampden hopes.

The pulsating 90 minutes had clearly taken its toll on both sides.

With little left in the tank, extra time saw Hearts unable to take advantage of the sudden swing in momentum, although Burchill should have done better after being set up by Thorarinsson some six yards out. A warning sign for the exhausted Jambos arrived two minutes from time when Motherwell broke at pace and McDonald converted past Gordon only for an offside flag to rule it out.

With just seconds left on the clock, though, the Steelmen duly applied the killer touch and it was another personal disaster for McAllister.

Having conceded the earlier spot-kick, the man who scored in Livingston’s Hampden triumph over Hibs last season, gifted possession to McDonald midway inside his own half. The outstanding ’Well ace then fed a delightful ball into the path of Fitzpatrick charging into the left-hand side of the box and his clinical strike past Gordon was the final act of an enthralling encounter.

"I thought fatigue showed a little after three midweek games in a row," said Robertson. "Maybe the fact Motherwell were idle at the weekend helped them a bit. But we had a corner with 30 seconds to go and thought we might nick it but they go up the park and score.

"Individual errors cost us. Jamie is distraught, but he has to be man enough to take it. It was a ball he didn’t have to go for and unfortunately it cost us the cup-tie."

Fortunately, perhaps, for McAllister and his dejected team-mates, they can’t afford to feel sorry for themselves with Saturday’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup showdown against Kilmarnock now looming large.

Taken from the Scotsman