Hearts turn up the heat
PAUL KIDDIE IN DUBLIN

Bray Wanderers 1
Hearts 5

HEARTS completed their pre-season tour to Ireland with a resounding victory over Bray Wanderers to give George Burley his first win as manager.

The opening match of the tour against St Patrick's Athletic on Sunday saw the Jambos labour to a goalless stalemate but it was a different story last night as the hosts were swept aside with a much more accomplished display.

The players had clearly benefited from their punishing 90 minutes under the Dublin sun at the weekend and stepped things up a notch or two at the Carlisle Grounds. Managers will tell you they don't read much into results in pre-season games and while that was no doubt the case for new man Burley after yesterday's triumph, the performance and manner of victory saw him jet back to the Capital today in an upbeat mood.

The former Derby County and Ipswich Town boss used the two games to give a run out to every member of the travelling squad and he declared himself satisfied at what he had seen.

"We have had two games now and they have given me the chance to see everybody," he said. "I thought we looked better last night than in the first game and had a bit more shape about us. It was important to assess the squad and we now push on from here.

"The boys have worked hard in pre-season and have had two good work outs in Ireland. It has been very hot for them but the later kick-off in Bray suited us and I could see they were looking fitter and sharper."

Hearts set the tone for the evening straight from the kick-off with Dennis Wyness presented with a glorious chance after just 15 seconds.

Robbie Neilson's ball over the top put the striker in behind the home defence but the former Inverness Caley Thistle lacked any sort of composure with his finish, his shot flying high and wide of the target.

The first goal of the Jambos' tour wasn't delayed too long, however, with the honour falling to David Cesnauskis. The Lithuanian looked in the mood against Bray and he made the most of an error by Stuart Holt who made a mess of an attempted clearance in his own box, the ball falling to Cesnauskis who drilled a shot past Chris O'Connor, the keeper getting his fingers to the ball but unable to keep it out.

The Tynecastle side almost doubled their advantage seconds later when skipper Steven Pressley, enjoying his first taste of action on the tour, headed Joe Hamill's deep corner narrowly wide of target.

It was pretty much one-way traffic towards O'Connor in the opening exchanges and the keeper did well to save from Cesnauskis after the Lithuanian's driving run from midfield had set him up with a shooting chance.

With Graham Weir having broken his shin at Richmond Park on Sunday, Wyness was left as the only recognised first-team striker at Burley's disposal. That meant there was a starting place for Iceland's Hjalmar Thorarinsson in Bray and the youngster won the free-kick which set up his side's second of the game after 27 minutes. He was pushed some 20 yards from goal and Stephen Simmons stepped up to crack a powerful drive beyond the defensive wall and into the far corner of the net.

That was the midfielder's last contribution, however, as he was substituted moments later after complaining of a problem with his thigh, the injury seeing Paul Hartley step off the bench sooner than the Scotland star had anticipated.

"He felt his thigh a little bit so hopefully it's not too bad. Once he said he was feeling it, we decided to take him off," said Burley, who also made a host of changes at the interval.

Pressley was removed from the fray to make way for Craig Sives, Marius Kizys came on for Hamill, Calum Elliott replaced Thorarinsson while Neil MacFarlane made way for Saulius Mikoliunas.

The Lithuanian playmaker made an immediate impression, causing the Wanderers' back line all sorts of problems.

Replacement keeper Pat Hannigan produced a good stop after the midfielder raced in behind the defence and the goalkeeper then did well to deny the same player in the 63rd minute, although his parry fell into the path of Elliott who somehow contrived to miss what appeared a simple chance.

The young front man made up for his error, though, in 70 minutes when he poked the ball over the line from the narrowest of angles after Hannigan had saved Hartley's shot.

Three minutes later and it was 4-0, Marius Kizys seeing his 25-yard shot deflected into the net.

Bray came close to pulling one back 15 minutes from time, Niall Donnelly's header coming back off the bar and Barry McGrory's follow-up tipped over by Jamie McDonald.

Hartley added a fifth in the 81st minute with the best goal of the game, his unstoppable shot from outside the box flying past Hannigan.

Wyness should then have made it six but lofted a shot over the bar with the goal at his mercy, the finish betraying the striker's lack of confidence. The hosts eventually found a way past McDonald and it was a special strike from Francesco Georgescu, who smashed a 30-yarder past the young shot-stopper with almost the last touch of the game.

The players were disappointed not to keep a clean sheet but the late strike failed to take the gloss off the victory for Burley, who will not step up his attempts to bolster his squad.

"We have had two good games and it was good to get some goals last night," he said.

"We looked better than on Sunday and it was nice to work with the players over these two games to give me a better picture of what I have got.

"Pre-season matches are all about getting fitness and sharpness.

"They are not about results and we have had two good work outs which will have helped the players as we prepare for the start of the league season."

Bray Wanderers: O'Connor (Hannigan, 37), Holt (Donnell, 65), Ryan (M Dunne, 59), McGovern (O'Brien, 70), Trommell, K O'Brien (Georgescu, 34), Sinnott (James, 59), Zarual (McGrory, 59), Zayed, Fox (R Dunne, 65), Tyrell (Keogh, 46).

Hearts: McDonald, Neilson, Pressley (Sives, 46), Berra (Tierney, 68), Wallace, Cesnauskis, Simmons (Hartley, 29), MacFarlane (Mikoliunas, 46), Hamill (Kizys, 46), Wyness, Thorarinsson (Elliott, 46). Subs not used: Gordon, McAllister.

Taken from the Scotsman