Hearts cruise on in a Baltic breeze

GLENN GIBBONS
AT RUGBY PARK

Kilmarnock 1
Boyd (90pen)

Hearts 3
Wallace (6), Miller (13), Cesnauskis (57)

Referee: J Rowbotham. Attendance: 6,366

INDEPENDENCE Day in Lithuania was declared a holiday in the west of Scotland last night as the two latest arrivals from the land of Vladimir Romanov made an enormous contribution to Hearts’ impressive progress into a Tennent’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at home to Livingston.

Deividas Cesnauskis, making his debut, was a hugely promising presence in tandem with Saulius Mikoliunas, scoring the third of the visitors’ goals as an appropriate finish to what was a performance of unchallenged superiority. On a night that could not be spoiled even by Kris Boyd’s injury-time penalty goal for the home side, teenager Lee Wallace scored his first goal for Hearts, while Lee Miller continued what has become his favourite pastime by providing the second.

Miller must be thinking that, if Kilmarnock were in opposition every time he pulled on the maroon shirt, he could establish a record and a reputation to rival those of Henrik Larsson. He would certainly not take long to eclipse the figures set by his manager, John Robertson, during the little former striker’s glory years at Tynecastle.

Having scored an extraordinary goal in the first match in this cup-tie and repeated the act in last Saturday’s league match, Miller helped himself once more as Hearts seemed intent on proving that Kilmarnock’s achievement in taking the tie to a replay had been a fluke.

Even in the short time it took Miller to put his imprint on the match, Hearts were not only immeasurably ahead of their opponents in the matter of overall play, but had already taken the lead through the prodigious, 17-year-old Wallace. The young full-back, who had made an impressive debut for the Edinburgh side in the first match 11 days ago, would be in danger of being lulled into the belief that this professional football lark is a breeze by the ease with which he opened the scoring.

Wallace carried the ball, utterly free of a challenge from a seemingly somnolent home side, from his own half deep into opposition territory before playing a sharp one-two with Dennis Wyness. Bolting through the inside-left channel to receive the precisely- delivered return pass, Wallace moved forward another few yards before lashing the left-foot shot high past Allan Combe from a range of about ten yards.

In truth, even after seven minutes, the goal seemed overdue. Hearts had already established themselves as a powerful and inventive force.

Miller added weight to that on the first occasion the striker was given the opportunity to show a sample of his work. Simon Ford, the Kilmarnock defender, tried to intercept Paul Hartley’s clipped free kick from the right, but merely glanced the header straight towards Miller.

Less alert forwards might have been taken by surprise at this unexpected development, but Miller was ready in an instant to send his own header, from the left of the home goal, high into the far corner. It was indicative of Hearts’ comprehensive superiority that, throughout the entire first half, Kilmarnock’s solitary, genuine scoring chance came about by accident, In clearing his lines, Andy Webster drove the ball against Steven Naismith, who took advantage of his good fortune by sending a low cross from the right to Boyd. From close range, the big striker shot wide.

The uniqueness of that incident made a vivid contrast with the numerous occasions on which Hearts manoeuvred themselves and the ball into areas from which further punishment could - and would - be administered.

Even before Cesnauskis and Mikoliunas combined to produce the third goal, they had rampaged to such an extent that the debutant should have delivered his maiden strike eight minutes before he did. Mikoliunas played his compatriot in on the left, Cesnauskis cutting inside Ford and opening up a path to his target obstructed only by Combe.

The goalkeeper was enough to prevent damage, throwing himself at the Lithuanian’s powerful drive to make the block. When Cesnauskis took possession of the loose ball and cut it back to Mikoliunas, that effort, too, was halted before it reached its target.

There would be no mercy soon after, however, Mikoliunas produced some trickery on the right, leaving defenders bewildered, before slipping the ball low to Cesnauskis. This time the recipient, on the turn and from the right of goal, drove the ball high past Combe.

The feature of the imports from the Baltic republic has been the speed with which they have made a contribution. Mikoliunas was identified by regular Hearts watchers as a useful tool on his debut some weeks ago, while Cesnauskis on his first appearance must have filled the durable band of Tynecastle supporters - they had travelled in miserable weather - with thoughts of golden times ahead.

But it would not, of course, be a Hearts match refereed by John Rowbotham without at least one notable incident involving the official and his severest critic, Robertson.

It arrived in the second half, when Rowbotham, on information from fourth official Cammy Melville, gave the manager a lecture.

Kilmarnock: Combe; Ford, Lilley, Fontaine, Hay; Invincibile, MacDonald, Leven, Johnston; Boyd, Naismith (Murray 70). Subs not used: Bell, Fowler, Dargo, Dodds.

Hearts: Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Wallace; Cesnauskis, Simmons (MacFarlane 81), Hartley, Mikoliunas; Miller (Thorarinsson 84), Wyness (Burchill 75). Subs not used: Moilanen, Berra.

Taken from the Scotsman