Hearts dig deep

STUART BATHGATE
AT THE FALKIRK STADIUM

FALKIRK 2
HEARTS 2

HEARTS dropped their first points of the season yesterday, but they remain undefeated thanks to a defiant comeback which, in the circumstances, must have felt like a victory. A man down for almost three-quarters of the match after Craig Gordon's dismissal, they were two goals behind with 22 minutes to play, yet showed commendable character to fight back and snatch a draw.

The end of their eight-match winning run means they have not bettered the 20th-century record set in 1914-15, nor can they now aim for the all-time club record of 11 consecutive wins from the start of the season, achieved back in 1894 when they became league champions for the first time. In the circumstances, though, they departed Falkirk in a mood of greater contentment than might have been inferred from the scoreline.

Already without the injured defender Takis Fyssas and striker Roman Bednar, George Burley's team not only lost Gordon when he brought down Darryl Duffy to concede a penalty, they were then deprived of the services of midfielder Julien Brellier when he went off injured before half-time.

It is not exactly clear how he sustained the knock, but Burley reported afterwards that the Frenchman had been passing a lot of blood. The diagnosis last night was of a suspected broken rib.

The manager has insisted week after week that his squad is too small, and the match was shaping up as convincing evidence for his argument as Hearts struggled to get back on terms.

Their late revival, however, proved that, whichever ten or 11 players are on the park, they play with a remarkable collective self-belief. That spirit was typified by Steven Pressley, who shrugged off the misfortune of scoring an own goal to get on the scoresheet twice at the right end.

With Brellier probably out for a few weeks and Bednar also inactive for more than a month, Hearts will welcome the fortnight's break before the visit to Celtic. Now just three points behind, Gordon Strachan's team will go top on goals scored if they win.

For long enough yesterday, though, it looked like Hearts would be unable to stretch the two-point advantage at the top with which they began the afternoon. Falkirk had proven their resilience by coming back from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Rangers in their last home game, and in the opening stages of this match they showed similar fight, even if play was marred by the numerous slips from players on either side on a pitch which had been too heavily watered. Hearts' first attack of note ended with them claiming hopefully for a penalty for a push on Paul Hartley, but the referee rightly denied them the award.

Falkirk were giving as good as they got in the opening spell, however, and after 13 minutes they came very close to opening the scoring - so close, indeed, that many home supporters were celebrating. Russell Latapy's free-kick was curled cutely over the defensive wall but also just over Gordon's goal, though the way it landed made it look like it had nestled in the back of the net.

The veteran Trinidadian was as adept as ever at creating space for himself, and he had the next significant attempt to open the scoring with a long-range shot which Gordon comfortably saved. The Hearts goalkeeper appeared at that stage to be his usual assured self, but moments later he was in real trouble when, with his defence having pressed up too far, a through ball sent Duffy bearing down on goal.

When Duffy reached the ball first and touched it past him, Gordon brought the striker down - an action for which he was immediately red-carded by the referee. Hearts were given time to bring on their substitute goalkeeper, Steve Banks, for Pospisil. The delay did nothing to put off Duffy, whose sure-footed shot beat Banks with ease.

Hearts had briefly been behind in their first match of the season, at Kilmarnock, but, being a man as well as a goal down, the problem facing them this time was of an entirely different order. The withdrawal of Pospisil made sense: having only resumed training last week after being out with a hamstring, the Czech would not have lasted the 90 minutes at any rate. But it still left Hearts with only one striker on the park in Edgaras Jankauskas, and even he was forced back towards the halfway line in search of possession as an increasingly confident Falkirk pressed on in search of a second.

Burley's difficulties grew before half-time when Brellier was forced off after taking a knock. McAllister moved forward to take the Frenchman's place in midfield, and Lee Wallace came on to take over from McAllister at left-back.

Early in the second half Banks had to look sharp to save from Duffy, but as the hour mark approached the action was mainly at the other hand, with Hearts' dominance being illustrated by a triple attempt on goal. A Neilson cross fell to Skacel at the back post, but the Czech's shot was saved by Matt Glennon. The ball rebounded to Jankauskas only for his shot to be blocked by Craig Ireland, and finally Hartley shot wide.

Just as it seemed Hearts' pressure would pay off, though, they went two down. A Pressley header back to Banks was chased down by Duffy, who got to the ball first. His shot was blocked but rebounded back off the Hearts captain and into the net.

It took no more than five minutes for Pressley to make amends - though he did have some lax defending to thank. A free-kick by Rudi Skacel should have been cleared before it reached the back post, but it was allowed through to Pressley, who ghosted in, extended his right foot and guided it into the net.

The equaliser in stoppage time was a similar story. The home defence should have dealt with a through ball which was glanced on by Skacel, but when they failed to do so, Pressley was there to sidefoot home.

There was still time for Falkirk's Pedro Moutinho to make inroads into the box and shoot over from a narrow angle, so it was not as if Hearts had everything their own way in the last 20 minutes. The way they had fought back in such adverse circumstances, however, would have made it cruel indeed had the substitute denied them a point.

The home team, although disappointed by the way in which they had conceded two points, should still derive some satisfaction from a result which lifts them just above Dunfermline in the table - and four points ahead of Livingston which, though by no means insurmountable, is indicative of the gap in effectiveness between John Hughes' team and the West Lothian side.

Taken from the Scotsman