Old guard play key role for Hearts

MIKE AITKEN
AT TYNECASTLE

Hearts 2 Skacel (20), Pospisil (85)
Aberdeen 0

Referee: M McCurry
Attendance: 16,139

SOMETIMES the more things change, the more they remain the same. Although the lush turf, the fever pitch pre-match rendition of Verdi and the influx of a battalion of east Europeans sent out a message of unity from Tynecastle on Saturday at odds with the political upheaval which gripped the club under previous ownership, Hearts continued to rely against Aberdeen on the camaraderie and cohesion which distinguished their best work on the field under Craig Levein's management.

This was hardly surprising since the international defensive axis of goalkeeper Craig Gordon and centre-backs Steven Pressley and Andy Webster remains intact and as vital to Hearts as Jim Leighton, Alex McLeish and Willie Miller once were to Aberdeen under the care of Sir Alex Ferguson in the Eighties. The retention of Paul Hartley's influence in midfield on a new contract has also been critical. As Aberdeen's Jimmy Calderwood observed, shrewd football management isn't just about the players you bring in, it's also about the players you keep.

If George Burley has used common sense, as well as Vladimir Romanov's financial muscle, to hang on to what was most valuable about the personnel who monopolised third place in the SPL for two seasons, the former Ipswich manager has sprung more of a surprise by also relying on elements of the direct, physical style of play preferred by Levein.

Coming from a background at Portman Road which lionises the short passing game and retention of the ball, Burley's approach against Aberdeen was more straightforward. When Hearts attacked, for the most part, the ball was played up briskly to a brace of big front men in Edgaras Jankauskas and Roman Bednar. Playing a relatively narrow four-man midfield to combat Aberdeen's numerical advantage in that area - Calderwood started with a 3-5-2 formation - Hearts actually spent less time on the ball than their opponents in the first half but did more with it.

In what was a bruising and often scrappy game, only Saulius Mikoliunas lacked the strength to make a real contribution for the home side. He was replaced at the start of the second half by the more robust figure of Jamie McAllister. While an eyebrow or two might have been raised about the wisdom of fielding a left-back on the right side of midfield, McAllister was unlucky to hit a post with a clever flick in the closing ten minutes before setting up another substitute, Michal Pospisil, for the second goal.

While the Czech's volley was sweetly struck, the clash between the striker and Zander Diamond, which left the Aberdeen defender seeking treatment for a gash, following on from Russell Anderson's bloody departure, left Calderwood to complain that people could draw their own conclusions from the fact that two of his centre-backs had needed stitches. Whatever else may be said about Burley's Hearts, no-one would suggest he's replaced competitors with soft touches.

The players brought to Edinburgh by the Romanov revolution are of a calibre past managers could only dream of attracting. Burley admitted when he took Hearts to Ireland to prepare for the new season, the club was "a million miles" from providing the Old Firm with competition for the SPL title. The arrival of Takis Fyssas, Julien Brellier, Jankauskas, Bednar, Pospisil and, best of all, Rudi Skacel, has advanced Hearts far further down the road than even the manager could have believed possible a month ago.

Any team which wants to challenge for honours and play in Europe needs a player who can score goals from midfield. In Hartley and Skacel, Hearts have two of these rare birds. The Czech's opening goal took advantage of Diamond's loss of concentration in the box following a tussle with Jankauskas. There was still plenty to do when Skacel swivelled to make space for himself. The shimmy into space was exquisite and the thumping left-foot shot was angled away from Ryan Esson. It was the Czech's fourth goal in four games.

Prepared to match fire with fire, Aberdeen were strong enough for 80 minutes or so to make life uncomfortable for Hearts. It was only after defender Andrew Considine was replaced by Richard Foster and Calderwood gambled on a 2-4-4 formation that the visitors crumbled. Where Aberdeen were second best for most of the match was in the lack of icy composure needed to breach a well-organised defence. As Calderwood acknowledged, Aberdeen played in front of Hearts rather than behind them. "We didn't hurt them," he admitted. "We lost too many personal battles."

Calderwood was perturbed his players lacked the belief required to win the game. Hearts, on the other hand, always looked in control and never appeared likely to loosen their grip on the match. Even if this wasn't the most fluent performance in a creative sense, Burley was thrilled by the "fantastic spirit" of his players and was quick to pay tribute to the willingness of those who were already on the books when he arrived to embrace new ideas.

Still seeking at least two more players to bolster his squad - the manager watched the Czech Republic play Sweden last week and is thought to have been impressed by Ajax full-back Zdenek Grygera - Burley is understandably keen to pour cold water on the more heated claims being made for his team. "We'll see where we are halfway through the season," he insisted.

That said, Hearts are ahead of schedule and capable of improving when Jankauskas gains full fitness and produces a more mobile display than the static contribution Aberdeen were able to contain.

Twenty years ago, when Alex MacDonald's side should have won the championship, Hearts paid the price for a cruel August after they lost 6-2 at Love Street and 3-1 at Ibrox. Everyone knows the league is a marathon rather than a sprint but after claiming 12 points from four matches and scoring 13 goals for the loss of only two, Hearts have come out of the blocks this August faster than Justin Gatlin.

Taken from the Scotsman