Prolific Skacel helps Hearts to maintain surge
By Roddy Forsyth
(Filed: 12/09/2005)

Match details

Livingston (1) 1 Hearts (3) 4

Hearts presented a study in contrast between the fortunes of two managers who have taken charge in the Scottish Premier League for the first time this season.

For George Burley the opening of the campaign has been something of a dream - Heart of Midlothian's perfect record now extends to half a dozen wins from as many fixtures, with Rudi Skacel grabbing his sixth goal in six games.

At the other extreme is Paul Lambert, a European Cup winner in his day, now mired at the foot of the table with a Livingston side who neglect too many of the basics to inspire much optimism about their chances of remaining in the division. By the time Livingston started competing the game was all but over as a contest, Skacel and Andy Webster having scored.

Even when possession became more even, Hearts were able to add another through Paul Hartley and although Paul Dalglish netted on the rebound after Craig Gordon had parried a free kick just before the break, the pattern was re-established in the second half as more defensive frailty was exposed in the home ranks, although it took a soft penalty award for a foul by Neil Barrett on Jamie McAllister to allow Hartley to score his second.

Lambert could have been forgiven a degree of despair at how cheaply his team conceded the goals which his touchline urgings could not prevent.

The opener came from a simple move which began with Roman Bednar on one flank, crossing for Hartley to rise beyond the back post for a nod back along the line where Skacel arrived to head past Roddy McKenzie.

Webster got Hearts' second when he was entirely unmarked at the back post for a McAllister free kick, while the third saw Hartley's tap-in finish a sweeping move which began with Robbie Neilson and was elegantly linked by Bednar. Graham Barrett, on loan from Coventry City, offered some hope to Livingston with the free kick which Gordon reached but could not hold for Dalglish's strike.

"As a manager I have never had a start like this," Burley said afterwards. "When I was a player at Ipswich we had a spell of 14 games undefeated but this is exceptional.

"We played very well for half an hour but then tiredness crept in, mainly because we had a few players away on international duty last week, and we took our foot off the gas.

"Give credit to Livingstone for taking advantage of that but we got back into our rhythm in the second half.

"As for Skacel, what can you say? He could have had three or four today. It tells you something about the standards we set for ourselves that we have a couple of players who are sitting disappointed in the dressing room."

Match details

Livingston (3-5-2): McKenzie; Boyd, McKay, Dorado; Brittain, N Barrett, Vince, Adams, Dair (Snodgrass 70); Dalglish (McPake 57), G Barrett. Subs: Roy (g), Scott. Walker, Strong, Pereira. Goal: Dalglish (45). Booked: Brittain, N Barrett.
Heart of Midlothian (4-4-2): Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Fyssas; McAllister (Wallace 80), Brellier, Hartley, Skacel (Cesnauskis 84); Bednar, Jankauskas (Simmons 57). Subs: Banks (g), Camazzola, Berra, Elliot. Goals: Skacel (11), Webster (27), Hartley (34, pen 63).

Referee: D McDonald.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk