Skacel keeps Hearts soaring

Skacel has now scored seven goals this season, one in each of Hearts’ league games so far, and he already seems a talisman for this side, the team’s impish personality. The visitors increased their lead at the top of the Premierleague by grinding out a result, maintaining their 100% record by clenching their teeth and setting the jaws resolutely. Sometimes, that is all a game demands of you. For George Burley, the result was something to savour even if the performance was not, and in the continuation of the team’s run, there was merit for both the Hearts manager and Skacel.

“I’ve never won as many games in a row as this as a manager,” Burley smiled. “When I was at Ipswich as a player, we won 14 or 15, but I’m very pleased and proud that we’ve now won seven games in a row. And it’s an absolutely outstanding feat by Rudi, I’m delighted for him.”

Hearts had to earn the right to be satisfied. Having climbed to the top of the Premierleague, they are now discovering how conspicuous they have become. Last week, Craig Brewster, the Inverness manager, claimed defeating the Edinburgh side was more of a scalp than the Old Firm. Even if Rangers and Celtic will always be emboldened by their history, a grain of contemporary truth at least runs through his words. Few sides, perhaps not even the Old Firm themselves, will face Hearts without an element of caution.

Inverness have long recognised that their deficiencies are most effectively hidden by playing a cloying game, by closing down the spaces in front of their midfield and defence. Opponents must wade through their determination. There was little to admire in the opening exchanges, the game was a shapeless mass, undefined and indistinct. It was like a slab of marble awaiting a sculptor’s adroit touch to create something worthy. Skacel offered his artistry. When the ball was played to the Czech midfielder in the 10th minute, he unleashed a shot from 30 yards and Mark Brown, the Inverness goalkeeper, had to throw himself to his right to turn it wide.

With Ian Black scurrying around the midfield with devilish intent, and Darren Dods and Grant Munro standing like indignant bouncers in defence, this was not to be an occasion for subtleties from the visitors. Instead, it demanded application. The breakthrough came when Takis Fyssas hurled a long throw into the penalty area, Roman Bednar headed the ball down and Skacel, veering his body smartly, made space to rifle a low left-foot shot through Dods’s legs and in off the post. “I was annoyed with the goal,” complained Brewster. “There were 10 blue jerseys in the box and we didn’t defend as we should have done.”

The home side kept spilling their sweat and as the first-half drew to a close, their industry produced a final product. A ball was lofted into the Hearts penalty area and Munro’s header bounced off the post and fell at the feet of Dods. His poked shot seemed set to trundle over the line, but Craig Dargo tapped in from an offside position and the goal was disallowed. “I wasn’t sure if it was going in and you’ve just got a split-second to react,” said Dargo. “I apologised to the lads at half-time.”

Inverness continued to apply themselves in the second half, and when an Alan Morgan corner was flicked on by Brewster, Munro just failed to make contact with the ball at the back post. That the only notable moment for Hearts was when Samuel Camazzola made his debut as a substitute says much for the game’s flatness.

Now, though, the league leaders await the visit of the champions next Saturday. “If we’d lost, there would have been pressure on us next week to get a result,” said Steven Pressley. “But now the pressure’s on Rangers.”

STAR MAN: Rudi Skacel (Hearts)

Player ratings. Inverness: Brown 5; Tokely 6, Dods 6, Munro 6, Golabek 6; Proctor 5, Black 6, McBain 5 (Fox 46min, 6), Wilson 6 (Morgan 76min, 6); Dargo 6 (Hart 84min, 6), Brewster 6.

Hearts: Gordon 6; Neilson 6, Pressley 6, Webster 6, Fyssas 6 (Wallace 63min, 5); McAllister 5 (Camazzola 55min, 6), Brellier 6, Hartley 6, Skacel 7; Bednar 6, Jankauskas 6 (Simmons 87min, 6).

Booked: Skacel 29, Brewster 34, Black 40, Pressley 41.

Referee: M McCurry.

Attendance: 6,704.

Taken from timesonline.co.uk