Killie find it pretty Baltic at Tynecastle

PAUL KIDDIE
AT TYNECASTLE

HIS name is a mouthful but it will soon be rolling off the lips of Hearts fans.

Saulius Mikoliunas has only recently set foot on these shores but has already done enough to suggest he will be a huge hit in the SPL.

The Lithuanian has made four successive starts for Hearts since his debut from the bench at Livingston last month and if he continues to produce the kind of displays which tied the Kilmarnock defence in knots on Saturday, he can look forward to many more outings in the famous maroon.

One of three imports from FBK Kaunas courtesy of new owner Vladimir Romanov, Mikoliunas is a player of rare quality who is equally accomplished on either side of the park.

The weekend clash was the first match attended by Romanov since his buy-out of Chris Robinson, the Russian-born millionaire being joined in the front row of the directors’ box by members of the new board - his son Roman, acting chief executive Sergejus Fedotovas and non-executive directors Liutauras Varanavicius, president of the Lithuanian Football Federation.

There has been concern expressed at the prospect of the Romanov regime flooding Tynecastle with players from the Baltic states. Such a scenario would presumably be more palatable for the fans if the calibre of Mikoliunas is anything to go by.

The midfielder has been joined at Tynecastle by fellow-countrymen Marius Kizys - he impressed as a second-half substitute against Kilmarnock - and 23-year-old internationalist Deividas Cesnauskis, who arrived on Friday with the reputation of being much better than either of his two team-mates. If that proves to be the case, the remainder of the season will indeed be full of Eastern promise.

The special acknowledgement from Romanov to Mikoliunas as the player headed up the tunnel at the end of the 3-0 stroll over Killie told its own story.

His ‘boy’ had come of age with a magnificent performance in the win which trimmed the lead of third-placed Hibs - they lost by the same margin to Rangers at Ibrox - to just two points. Not bad for a team which, by most accounts, is having a poor season compared to the headline-grabbing exploits of their arch rivals.

"Hibs losing was a bonus and it’s our aim to keep the pressure on at the top," said boss John Robertson. "The victory allowed us to move a bit closer to them but we have to keep grinding out results and keep winning games and see where that takes us at the end of the season."

This was the second of three successive meetings between the teams, the sides clashing again on Wednesday at Rugby Park in the Tennent’s Scottish Cup fourth round replay.

Killie had forced a rematch with a dramatic late equaliser last weekend, Hearts having paid the price for failing to capitalise on their first-half domination.

There was to be no such slacking on Saturday, though, with the home side coasting to an important victory.

Robertson made just the one change for the league meeting, Christophe Berra in for the suspended Andy Webster, but the young defender was rarely troubled by the Killie attack.

Mikoliunas set the tone for the day with a superb opening goal after 14 minutes which brought the new regime to its feet in acclaim.

Paul Hartley was fouled by Gary Locke midway inside the visitors’ half and Stephen Simmons had the presence of mind to take the free-kick quickly to send Mikoliunas scampering in behind the Kilmarnock defence. The youngster still had plenty to do but he evaded his marker, rounded the advancing Alan Combe and stroked home his first goal for the club with his left foot.

Two minutes later and he provided the ammunition from the right for Lee Miller to send a header flashing wide.The second goal, however, was only delayed by eight minutes. The marauding Mikoliunas found Robbie Neilson on the right and the full-back’s cross was turned into his own net by the unfortunate James Fowler.

The visitors tried to hit back with Kris Boyd sending a header wide from Locke’s delivery and the Killie striker was then denied by the quick reactions of Craig Gordon, who dashed off his line to pull off a smart save.

It was Hearts, though, who came close to stretching their advantage before the break and once again it was Mikoliunas in the thick of the action.

The midfielder set up Lee Miller in the 40th minute and the loan star should have done better than place his shot straight into the hands of Combe. The woodwork then came to Killie’s rescue as Dennis Wyness’ shot came crashing back off the crossbar and Mikoliunas’ follow-up effort was blocked by the defence.

The second period brought no respite for the Ayrshire outfit and within four minutes of the restart, Jim Jefferies had Combe to thank again for denying Hearts.

Mikoliunas weaved his way into the right-hand side of the box before checking back onto his left foot and sending a curling effort goalwards. Combe was able to fingertip the ball away but only into the path of the lurking Wyness, who appeared to have the simplest of tasks to head the ball home into an unguarded net. The striker, though, hadn’t bargained on the recovery powers of the Killie keeper who managed a desperate clearance at his near post, Combe ending up in the back of the net as the ball went out for a corner.

The game was finished as a contest after a marvellous effort from Miller in the 66th minute.

Set up on the far side of the box by strike partner Wyness, the former Falkirk star unleashed a vicious angled shot which went into the back of the net off the underside of the bar.

With the points in the bag, Robertson rang the changes and introduced all three substitutes - Mark Burchill, Hjalmar Thorarinsson and Kizys, the Lithuanian making his debut.

It was the victory and performance which Robbo had been hoping for, although he insisted it will have no bearing on the replay.

"We were delighted with the win and I thought we played some cracking stuff at times," said the Hearts boss.

"Young Lee Wallace had another good game at left back, we were industrious in midfield and the boys up front were always capable of getting goals.

"On another day we could have had five or six goals but the important thing was to get the three points which I think we merited. However, I don’t think it will have any bearing on Wednesday’s game."

Jefferies insisted Hearts will face a markedly changed Kilmarnock side at Rugby Park, the former Gorgie chief angered by his team’s lack of competitive edge.

"The performance was just not good enough," he said. "We competed last week but didn’t do that on Saturday. Hearts are going to see a far different Kilmarnock team in the Scottish Cup - I’ll make sure of that."

Taken from the Scotsman