Hearts are the surreal thing

MOIRA GORDON
AT TYNECASTLE

HEARTS 2 Skacel 20, Pospisil 85
ABERDEEN 0

THERE was something surreal about this. It wasn't the Scottish football norm. It was a scorching day, the atmosphere was almost carnival-esque, and despite the fact it wasn't a derby and neither of the Old Firm were involved, the punters were crammed in.

Oh, and to make matters even more surreal, Hearts only scored two goals.

They had bagged 11 in their opening three fixtures and the way they were lining up for pot-shots at times throughout this match suggested another high-scoring afternoon. But maybe this is what was needed to remind the fans that while victories may continue to come, there is no such thing as a formality. If Hearts are intent on staying top of the league then it will demand a helluva lot of hard work.

While Hearts are the ones currently espousing aspirations to usurp the big two Glasgow clubs, it was Aberdeen who have been the pair's biggest bugbear in recent times.

Defeats of Celtic last season and the bettering of Rangers last weekend mean they are a match for anyone on their day. They also finished above the Tynecastle club last year and are in no mood to relinquish that end-of-season superiority.

But there is a head of steam building up around this Hearts squad. They won't make the kind of predictions which, given the fact the league campaign is still just four games old, could yet come back and haunt them but the fans are not so reticent. Chants of "Easy, easy" bolstered the decibel count, while others were pretty damn adamant they "shall not be moved".

But this wasn't easy. It was competitive, it was bloody and Hearts had to earn the right to stay top of the league.

The players had been aware that this could pose the biggest test to the top-of-the-table status and came out of the blocks at breakneck speed.

In the first minute it was Paul Hartley who served up the reminder that while the big-name new boys may be hogging the headlines, they are not constructing this great run of results alone. There have been additions to the squad but the home-grown lads George Burley inherited are vital cogs in this machine.

That attempt could not be converted into an early lead and while Roman Bednar was the next to try, it was eventually the Czech midfielder Rudi Skacel who beat Ryan Esson, drilling a right-foot shot into the net. A player who is fast becoming a cult hero among the Hearts fans, he laps up the adulation which is unrelenting. A goal in every game so far perhaps explains why.

The positivity that permeates this stadium is fast becoming the most surreal thing of all. Over the past few years the vitriol and gripes were so prevalent, it seemed the mood would seep into the very material of the stands, never to be totally exorcised. But now, there hardly seems to be a bad word for anyone. The singing now focuses on what is going right on the pitch rather than what was going wrong off it, every player is a hero and a stray pass no longer prompts calls for public hangings.

If this is to continue to the end of the season, the doctors of the area will be left with a vast supply of unnecessary happy pills.

With goals galore in this Hearts team, the defences in this game shouldn't be over-looked. Guys like Zander Diamond, Scott Severin and Russell Anderson provide as good a backline as anyone in the league and they weathered a lot of the opposition attacks which depend on imposing physical presence, as well as vision and movement. The robust nature of the play meant that both Russell Anderson and Zander Diamond needed stitches before heading back up north.

The fact both goals came after players had bustled their way free of their markers did not please Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood, but it was unclear whether he was narked more with his own defenders or a lack of protection from officials. "I've got two centre-halfs with stitches...fill the rest in yourself!" he said.

What he was unequivocal about, though, was the fact his side had enjoyed the amount of possession which should have garnered a goal but his men still lack that incisive last ball through to the strike force.

"I can't remember big Craig [Gordon] having too many saves to make."

Gary Dempsey burst up from midfield in the 38th minute but Steven Pressley got in to block and Robbie Neilson was quickly on hand to skelp it clear. It is that team-work and togetherness which has pleased George Burley most.

"Very pleased. Starting after an international week with 13 players away and one or two had knocks and we haven't been able to work on anything. But that's 13 goals in four games, and three clean sheets. You can see the spirit and everyone is enjoying themselves."

But he is clear that it is still very much a work in progress. "At times the passing and interplay could be a bit better but their attitude was great. But other teams don't just lie down. Aberdeen had five across midfield and they worked hard to stop us passing through midfield."

Calderwood claimed that too many players in his side seemed devoid of the belief that they could peg Hearts back, let alone overhaul them.

But running wins gives teams an air of invincibility and it was proved justified when substitute Michal Pospisil, who had replaced young Bednar, used his strength to get away from Diamond and complete the scoring.

It was only two goals, but it was three points.

Which leaves them with a gap at the top and at least another week of fending off questions about whether they can, in fact, be moved.

Taken from the Scotsman