Hearts signal their intent

AT the start of the season, Hearts fans would have been content with a shift in powerbase within the city from Leith to Gorgie. Just two weeks into the new season, the stakes have been raised. Yesterday's 4-0 destruction of Hibs in the first Edinburgh derby of the season leaves them top of the league and, among their supporters at least, contemplating grander schemes.

It is only natural that the emphatic nature of this victory, together with last weekend's 4-2 win at Kilmarnock, will lead to speculation that their current vantage point may be a platform for something more than the 0stated ambition of finishing third.

Vladimir Romanov, their Lithuanian owner, would certainly have been forgiven for allowing his mind to drift on to higher things at the end, as he punched the air and blew kisses to supporters. However, the second game of the season is no time to draw conclusions about a potential challenge to the Old Firm's hegemony.

Bristling with attack-minded players of genuine quality, suffice to say that, on their day, they will be a match for any team in the Premierleague, including Rangers and Celtic. Consistency, however, is their biggest challenge.

In George Burley, they have a wily manager who will quickly quell the more excitable mutterings of fans. Nevertheless, there is a confidence about him which suggests he is more than happy with how his team are taking shape.

"Remember last season, we finished 41 [sic] points behind," he warned, straight-batting questions of whether they can close the gap on the big two. "You just need to look at Rangers' and Celtic's squads, they have top international players so if we manage to finish third and take the club back into Europe that'd be tremendous for us."

As for Hibs, this was a wretched afternoon for the Easter Road side, who had defender Gary Caldwell taken off with a punctured lung and broken ribs and their manager, Tony Mowbray, sent to the stand for an altercation with referee Stuart Dougal.

"We feel for our supporters and the players are pretty down but you get judged at the end of the season on 38 games, not two," said Mowbray. "I've every reason to believe that we will have an entertaining and successful season. The test is Livingston at home next week. You lose big games, you've got to bounce back. We lost the first one last year and the season went okay."

In a city heaving with culture in the form of the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival which opened yesterday, it was hoped that this capital derby would also provide a touch of refinement usually absent on these occasions. The two managers' favoured passing games meant this was as good a chance as any, but only one team delivered.

Hearts were irresistible. With Roman Bednar – "the best young striker I've ever worked with", according to Burley– Saulius Mikoliunas, Rudi Skacel and Paul Hartley in their line-up, they are bursting at the seams with attacking options. And all this without their Lithuanian powerhouse, Edgaras Jankauskas, who failed a late fitness test and was replaced by Calum Elliot.

For most of this match, they descended on Hibs in swarms of maroon. It is just as well for Hibs that Julian Brellier, the 23-year-old signed from Inter Milan, is a defensively minded midfielder otherwise this might have been a cricket score.

"I said before the season that it would take us two or three weeks before we form a squad and get the new players fully fit, but that there were goals in the side. I think we showed that today with the number of goals we scored and chances created," added Burley.

While the new recruits performed admirably, in particular Skacel, the Czech internationalist who scored the opener, Paul Hartley delivered another display of perpetual motion topped off with a second-half penalty to make it 2-0. Burley confirmed that his contract negotiations are going well.

He said: "I said from day one that I wanted to keep the four Scottish internationals. I've spoken to Paul and his agent and his agent has spoken to Phil Anderton, so I think we're getting close. He's a smashing player but he's a great character in the dressing room and I think he's enjoying his football."

The absence of Derek Riordan, the Hibs striker, through injury meant a starting slot for towering frontman Amadou Konté. That disrupted Hibs' usual free-flowing rhythm and reduced them to punting long, diagonal balls towards Konté and Garry O'Connor. By the time Riordan was introduced in the second half, the game had gone.

Mowbray, meanwhile, was sent packing on the stroke of half-time after a prolonged conversation with the referee which Dougal ended by pointing to the stand.

"I was just passing on some comments. There was no foul language, no anger in my voice, I was just giving him an opinion," said Mowbray innocently. "I was surprised at that decision. I thought it was a very valid point because I thought his performance level in the second half was very good. I think he maybe took on board what we talked about.

"It was nothing to do with decisions. Are referees allowed to talk after games? No? Maybe we should see if we can change that."

Taken from the Herald