Beuzelin finally breaks Hearts

Patrick Glenn at Easter Road
Sunday October 30, 2005
The Observer

Hearts' first league defeat of the season could hardly have come from a more nauseating source. But the Premierleague leaders should apportion at least some of the blame to their own striker, Edgaras Jankauskas, whose aberration early in the second half brought his sending-off, the result of two bookings.

The match was scoreless at the time and there was every reason to hypothesise that the Tynecastle team would have escaped the ultimate punishment with a full complement of staff. Instead, Guillaume Beuzelin and Garry O'Connor inflicted the wounds as Hibs went to work on their opponents' weakness.

As uncompromising as anyone would expect of a squabble between neighbours bent on one-upmanship, this renewal of an old feud was always likely to lack much of the finesse that has been a regular feature of both teams' play so far this enthralling season.

It may reasonably be argued that Hibs have been the more frequently associated with verve and that they would, as a matter of course, be the more severely handicapped in any match in which relentlessly energetic challenges in every area of the field would be a priority.

But Hearts' dramatic improvement over the past few months has been attributable in no small measure to the flair they have introduced through imported players such as Rudi Skacel, Jankauskas and Michal Pospisil, as well as the inventive skill of Paul Hartley.

As events unfolded, it was the home team who, in the main, adhered where possible to the slick passing game that has made them credible challengers for honours and it was they who could consider themselves unfortunate not to have established a lead before half-time.

Their five-man midfield is replete with perceptiveness and accuracy of distribution, as well as fluent movement that can transform players such as Derek Riordan and Scott Brown into auxiliary forwards - complementing lone striker O'Connor - with potentially costly suddenness.

It was such an abrupt switch from defence to attack that should have brought a goal after 18 minutes. Michael Stewart, deep in his half and wide on the left, played the ball long and low to Riordan, whose scamper down the flank was matched by that of O'Connor through the middle.

The low, left-footed cross was perfectly measured, curling straight to the right foot of the striker, who reached the ball ahead of goalkeeper Craig Gordon but sent his shot wide. It was a golden opportunity spurned.

Hearts did not reach the top of the league without resilience, however, and if their threatening moments were less frequent, they were still capable of raising a scare in the home team's defence. Never more so than with Skacel's powerful left-foot shot on the turn, forcing Zbigniew Malkowski into a vital save.

But Hearts' opportunities would be severely reduced by Jankauskas's sending-off. The Lithuanian had been booked for persistent fouling shortly before the interval and, having been awarded a free-kick after a challenge by Brown, his two-handed push on the Hibs player was foolishness in the extreme. The second yellow card was inevitable.

Hibs, predictably, had the bulk of possession thereafter and they exploited their advantage ruthlessly. The first of their goals began with a clever pass from Gary Caldwell to substitute Ivan Sproule on the right, wrong-footing the Hearts defenders, who clearly expected a high cross into the area.

Sproule, who was utterly free of a challenge, sent the cut-back low to Beuzelin and the Frenchman struck the ball right-footed low and far to the right of Gordon.

The Hearts players' heads did not have the chance to drop to their chests before Hibs doubled their advantage. From a corner, the ball was played out to left-back David Murphy and his cross found O'Connor, left isolated by the visiting team's trying to set the offside trap. The striker chested the ball down and rifled a left-foot shot low past Gordon from eight yards.

Man of the match: Guillaume Beuzelin - endlessly perceptive.

Taken from the Guardian/Observer