MY HEARTS ARE BEATING

Jul 31 2005

KILMARNOCK ...............2 HEARTS ...........................4 Burley: We can be third force in SPL

Gavin Berry At Rugby Park

GEORGE BURLEY watched his Tynecastle reign get off to a winning start then warned rivals Hibs: We're after third spot.

The new Hearts gaffer couldn't have asked for better in the SPL opener as two of his three new signings found the mark in Jambos' thrilling success. It was the perfect result for Burley in his first competitive match in charge and the travelling fans were chanting his name long before the full-time whistle.

Hearts fell behind to Steven Naismith's strike but Czech duo Rudolf Skacel and Roman Bednar bulged the net and Saulius Mikoliunas added a glorious third to give them a two-goal cushion.

Jim Jefferies' Killie hit back through Gordon Greer but Burley's fired-up boys wrapped up the points when playmaker Paul Hartley converted a penalty two minutes from time.

The win sent the visiting army of fans away happy and provides a wonderful morale-booster ahead of next Sunday's Edinburgh derby.

And Burley has lit the torch paper for the weekend showdown by demanding his team replace the Hibees as the SPL's third force.

Asked if they could separate the Old Firm, Burley said: 'Remember there were 41 points between second-placed Celtic and us last season so that's a big ask.

'This season I said to the team we want to get third place and a return to Europe.

'Next week will be difficult. Hibs were third on merit last season.

'I know Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus, they are a good management team, and they have the same squad.

'But we'll be looking to win as we will be in every match and I'm excited about the future. We might be top of the league now but that counts for nothing.'

Burley also hailed his players for the character they showed at Rugby Park and their commitment since he took over.

He said: 'We knew this was the first game and Kilmarnock would make it really tough. We were under a lot of pressure early on but weathered the storm and showed character to come back.

'I've been impressed with the work ethic in the squad. We went to Dublin for a couple of weeks in pre-season and it was a rebuilding programme.'

Burley was returning to his Ayrshire roots yesterday after a decade away from the Scottish game. His last involvement was when he was manager of Killie's bitter rivals Ayr United.

But while the gaffer hails from Cumnock this supposed Tynecastle revolution has a much more eastern European flavour to it with Lithuanian Vladimir Romanov bankrolling it.

And Jambos' three new faces from that part of the world - Romanov's countryman Edgaras Jankauskas and Czech duo Skacel and Bednar - were all given their first taste of the SPL.

The new era certainly seems to have caught the imagination of the Jambos supporters who travelled through in magnificent numbers, with just over 3000filling the Chadwick Stand. But while there's been plenty of change down Gorgie way things have remained pretty much the same at Rugby Park.

Fraser Wright is the only addition to last season's squad.

If it isn't broken then why fix it seems to be the message from Killie with Jefferies operating a steady ship and it was the home side who drew first blood after just 11 minutes.

Peter Leven took a throw-in and found youngster Naismith inside the box.

He had neatly turned Steven Pressley before firing a shot low under Scotland No.1 Craig Gordon.

However, the celebrations were barely over when Hearts got back on level terms and it was new boy Skacel who grabbed the equaliser.

Jamie McAllister started the move with a cross into the box to Jankauskas and Alan Combe made a good save from close range to deny the striker - but hotshot Skacel pounced on the rebound to net.

The on-loan Marseille star was easily the best player on the park and looks like he could make a real impact this season.

Kilmarnock had the next best chance just before the half hour when James Fowler made a superb run from his own half before sending perfectly-weighted pass to Kris Boyd The striker fired his effort straight at Gordon, though.

And Killie were made to pay for that just 50 seconds into the second half when Hearts took the lead for the first time thanks to lethal Bednar.

Skacel sent a cross from the left to the back post that Jankauskas headed back in for Bednar who nodded the ball home via the inside of the post. Hearts were in full flow now and a third arrived just after the hour mark.

Gary McDonald lost possession in the middle of the park and Bednar picked up the loose ball.

He played it into his countryman Skacel who fed Mikoliunas and he curled a magnificent effort into the back of the net from just outside the box.

Killie could have rolled over but if they were going down they would go down fighting. And 15 minutes from time Jefferies' troops reduced the deficit when Greer powered home a header from Gary Locke's free-kick into the box.

However, Killie couldn't complete the comeback and it was Hearts who added a fourth in the dying moments when Hartley blasted home from the spot after Locke brought down Jankauskas.

That meant disappointment for Jefferies who reckoned his team were simply outmuscled by Jambos.

He said: 'The story of the game was we displayed some great play to get in the lead but didn't have a chance to enjoy it with Hearts equalising within a minute.

'Their physical presence caused us problems.

'It was more a battle than a game of football and I felt they were better equipped physically to deal with thatref watch.

ALAN FREELAND dished out six bookings as some tasty tackles flew in but was far too inconsistent and struggled to keep control at times. Made good call for the late penalty, though. Rating: 5/10in association with

Taken from the Sunday Mail