Three and easy for Hearts as new boys shine

GRAEME CROSER
AT RUGBY PARK

Kilmarnock 1 (Boyd 90)
Hearts 3 (Wallace 6, Miller 13, Cesnauskis 57)

BORED? No chance. On this evidence Hearts would be happy to play Kilmarnock every week.

The third instalment of the Edinburgh v Ayrshire trilogy yielded an emphatic victory for the Jambos with the club’s new-found Eastern European influence coming to the fore.

It was Independence day in Lithuania and debutant Deividas Cesnauskis celebrated by netting a debut goal to cap a sterling performance.

The Jambos now face a home quarter-final tie against struggling Livingston. They are clear favourites to make the semis and, with just three points separating them and third-placed Hibs in the league, their season has really taken off.

Those sceptical of Vladimir Romanov’s intentions for the Gorgie club have had their doubts slowly dispelled over the past few weeks. The Baltic banker seems serious about his plans to transform Hearts and the recruitment of Cesnauskis and compatriot Saulius Mikolunias through his role as sponsor of homeland club FK Kaunas have injected dash into John Robertson’s team.

The manager at times seemed put out by the protracted period of time taken by Romanov to complete his investment in the club but, encouragingly, he is embracing the fruits of the new shareholder’s involvement.

Given Robertson’s football philosophy it’s starting to seem a match made in heaven. Mikolunias and Cesnauskis have been thrown straight into the team and given license to attack from the flanks.

The Lithuanians switched flanks and cut inside at will last night, tormenting Killie with their directness and sublime ball control.

Indeed one can scarcely imagine a more attack-minded midfield than the one which featured the two wingers on either side of the central pairing of Stephen Simmons and Paul Hartley.

From the moment the widemen combined to carve open the defence and tee up a chance for Simmons you knew Killie were in for a tough night.

However, it was teenager Lee Wallace who stole the show. The 17-year-old has now played three first-team matches, all against Killie, and scored a wonder goal to set Hearts on their way.

With little more than five minutes played the left-back picked up the ball in his own half and spotting a gap in midfield strode forward. He was allowed to keep running and as he approached the Killie penalty area fed Dennis Wyness.

The forward intelligently returned the pass and Wallace showed remarkable composure to take touch and then lift the ball over Alan Combe into the net.

It was a swashbuckling start to the match and there was plenty more to come. A few minutes later Hartley’s free-kick spun off Simon Ford and onto Lee Miller’s forehead which it left like a bullet into the top corner. Whether the forward knew much about it is another matter.

He said: "It was reaction more than anything, the ball just deflected into my path and the pace was already on it.

"I managed to direct it towards goal and in it went."

Such good fortune tells its own story. Hearts are flying at the moment and Miller is enjoying all the luck of a striker in form. Last Saturday he rattled in a long-ranger off the bar against Jim Jefferies’ side and last night he extended the rich vein of form which has allowed the supporters to forget former favourite Mark De Vries.

Wallace had his tail up in the first period and instigated a number of attacks, either by feeding one of the two wide men or launching an impressive long pass such as the one which sent Hartley scurrying towards goal before he was halted by a David Lilley slide-tackle.

Mikolunias and Cesnauskis were willing to shoot on sight and, after the latter was denied by a fine block from Combe, he grabbed his first goal for the club.

Fittingly, it was his fellow countryman who provided the assist cutting the ball back from the byline before Cesnauskis rifled the ball into the far corner.

It was just reward for those supporters who invested time and money to watch these teams lock horns for the third time in a row when they might have been tempted to stay at home and watch on TV.

If Hearts keep playing with the same abandon they’ll find themselves in front of the broadcasters’ cameras more often.

Robertson seems determined to entertain and is clearly delighted he is being given the players with which to do it. "It’s no surprise that the Lithuanians should make a contribution so quickly. We play the kind of football they like and are used to," he said.

"We like to play it on the ground, get forward, make good passes and score goals. That’s what we did again tonight and I thought we played very well.

"Young Lee Wallace has also done great again. He’s just a kid but he scored a great goal running 70 yards before dinking the ball over the keeper. More importantly, he did a great job defensively. He has shown he is no slouch going forward but he is a full-back and it’s important he defends."

It was a miserable night for former Jambos boss Jim Jefferies. Denied several players through injury, his team never got going. Even a few chants of his name from the away support couldn’t raise a smile but he did have some magnanimous words for his team’s conquerors.

He said: "Hearts have a very solid base in defence with Steven Pressley and Andy Webster. But the real flair came from the Lithuanians. I thought the lad making his debut had an exceptional game."

The only black spot for Hearts was the booking which will rule skipper Steven Pressley out of the last-eight clash with Livingston.

Then again, who needs defenders when your team’s playing like this?

Taken from the Scotsman