Hearts 2 - 2 Kilmarnock

They look like a side who can battle through cup ties and, with Jefferies growling at them from the touchline, they won't be able to relax for a moment.

In saying that, they lack consistency, and watching Kilmarnock every week must be a frustrating experience, as you just never know what you are going to get. One week they look a class act, the next they struggle to string a few passes together.

The key factor in their favour is that Jefferies has the managerial nous to make them peak in cup matches. He did it when he took Hearts to the Scottish Cup final in 1998 and, with Rangers out of this year's tournament, he is quite capable of doing it again with Kilmarnock. They have no chance of a UEFA Cup place through the league but securing a European spot by making the final at Hampden is well within their grasp.

They are a dour side to watch at times and it was route one football which managed to secure the 2-2 draw against Hearts. Their star performer was goalkeeper Alan Combe, who handled superbly and whose stop from Paul Hartley in the second half kept his side in the game.

Combe is very much the forgotten man of Scottish goalkeepers but with Walter Smith, the national coach, in the stands, his excellent performance would have done him no harm at all.

The Kilmarnock goalkeeper was left horribly exposed for Hearts' first goal when the diminutive figure of Dennis Wyness was allowed to head home. Their equaliser came after a cross from Allan Johnston was missed by the Hearts defence, giving Colin Nish an eternity to score.

Just before half-time Hartley, once again the playmaker for Hearts, threaded a magnificent ball through to Lee Miller, who crashed the ball into the net. In the second half Combe made a number of good saves before Steven Naismith popped up in the final minute to equalise. It was just reward for the way Kilmarnock battled to the end.

John Robertson, the Hearts coach, claimed his side were robbed and blamed referee John Rowbotham for allowing both goals to stand. His mumping seemed extraordinary considering not one Hearts player complained about either goal and his reasons did not stand up to scrutiny.

As Jefferies said afterwards: "When I was Hearts manager, I had rose-tinted glasses. That's a trait of Hearts managers."

A positive for Robertson was the fact his decision to give a first-team debut to 17-year-old full back Lee Wallace paid off. The teenager did lose Johnston in the build-up to the first Kilmarnock goal but after that put the shackles on his experienced opponent.

"I was told on Thursday I would be in the squad and maybe playing, and because of that I had two sleepless nights," said Wallace. "It was the biggest match of my life and, although it was great to play, the result spoiled it."

The pressure is growing already on Robertson, as the club have not had a good week. A defeat by Motherwell in the CIS Cup semi-final followed by a draw at home in the Scottish Cup means their hopes of silverware hang in the balance.

Lithuanian multi-millionaire Vladimir Romanov is now the biggest single shareholder and his representatives watched both games. Romanov has made proud boasts of turning Hearts into real championship contenders and have brought in Anatoly Byshovets as their director of football.

The men from the Baltic state look like they want immediate success but a cup replay at Kilmarnock a week on Wednesday is an obstacle to any silverware this season.

Jefferies knows that all his attention can be focused on the replay, whereas Hearts still have to maintain decent league form as they hope to finish third in the league.

The clubs meet in the league next Saturday, then again at Rugby Park four days later in the replay. They will be sick of the sight of each other by then, but Jefferies may come out of it all the happier man.

Taken from the Herald