Hearts 1 – 0 Kilmarnock

GRAHAM SPIERS At Tynecastle October 27 2005

Even in their turmoil, Hearts remained at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premierleague. There have been more exciting affairs than this at unfathomable Tynecastle this season, but the Gorgie faithful won't care about that. The task here, in a time of turbulence, was to maintain their dream at the top of the SPL.

In the end it took an Edgaras Jankauskas goal after 35 minutes to grab three points. Both teams were minus key players, which might account for the grittiness of the match. With some glee, the PA announcer proclaimed that his team were now 11 points clear of Rangers, who drew 2-2 at Almondvale.

Tynecastle remains plunged in intrigue – not to say total darkness – over who will be Hearts' next manager. The quest to find George Burley's successor took Phil Anderton, the club's chief executive, to London and possibly beyond yesterday as he starts wading his way through every Tom, Dick and Harry you care to mention.

Prominently cited candidates (if not quite credible favourites) to replace Burley remain the old favourites: Sir Bobby Robson, Nevio Scala and, heaven help us, Hristo Stoichkov. You can never tell, but in the days ahead it may transpire that Robson, teetering towards his 73rd birthday, will prove too much of a dinosaur to come bumbling into this Hearts soap opera.

The snappers at Tynecastle last night had their guns trained on Vladimir Romanov, a Hearts majority shareholder with a heck of a penchant for whipping up a drama. In the stadium last night there was still a palpable incredulity at the way this man took what had been an incredibly successful script to Hearts'

season and simply ripped it up.Romanov took his seat, as he did on Saturday, not to cheering, or booing, but mere numb incomprehension. In some quarters the Lithuanian has even been quoted as saying he'll take charge of the team himself if no suitable candidate emerges, which was one more piece of lunacy in a growing farce. At Tynecastle, the fact that Romanov has next to no English has almost become a licence for no end of absurdities to be put about.

The one other intrigue of this match was the sudden withdrawal at half-time of Stuart Dougal, the match referee, who had bantered happily before kick-off but then came over all unwell as the opening period unfolded.

Alas, poor old Bobby Brown and Jim Jefferies, the Kilmarnock management team. The man who took over from Dougal was Stevie O'Reilly, our erstwhile fourth official, who had spent much of the first half conducting a running feud with Brown and Jefferies, as O'Reilly tried to keep them in check, physically, if not verbally.

In O'Reilly's place by the dugouts, a bloke from the crowd named William Collum arrived to take over, and hardly looked interested.

There had been more than a few squeals for a penalty by the Hearts fans, all blithely waved aside by Mr Dougal, before Jankauskas put Hearts ahead after 35 minutes. This great crane of a Lithuanian, who stood on one goal in 10 league appearances, is skilful but evidently no poacher, so his opener last night will have done himself, let alone his team, a power of good.

Even as Jankauskas raced through to meet Rudi Skacel's neat pass, you could see the uncertainty in his body language as he hovered over the ball. Even so, as Graeme Smith, the Kilmarnock goalkeeper, raced from his goal, the Hearts striker stabbed the ball past him and then leapt memorably with joy as the ball rolled into the net.

Hearts were grateful for the goal, even with its hint of offside. Twice Smith had plunged low in the opening half to save from Jamie McAllister, but

Kilmarnock proceeded to produce a few scares of their own in front of goal. In the second half the visitors began to press Hearts, and O'Reilly, the new referee, had to overlook a potential penalty when the ball broke against Andy Webster's arm inside the area.

In place of the injured Roman Bednar, Michal Pospisil has seized his chance and should have extended Hearts' lead after 66 minutes when, following Robbie Neilson's cross, the striker found himself free behind defenders with only Smith to beat. The goalkeeper, though, was once more alert to the task.

The one thing Kilmarnock didn't have last night was the spirit of Skacel. Not only is this young Czech highly skilled in his play, but he is an impressively motivating figure at the centre of the team.

When Skacel went off after 84 minutes, even not having had one of his finest games, he received a warm ovation.

Taken from the Herald