That was evidence enough for Paul Lambert, the Livingston manager, to claim a goal. “You’ve got to have eyesight like Clark Kent to see there hadn’t been a touch,” said Lambert. “For somebody to throw the ball 40 or 45 yards and for it to bounce over a 19ft 5in goalkeeper for the referee to say there wasn’t a touch, well, I don’t know. If I’m wrong on seeing it again, I’ll say so, but my players are saying there was a touch.” James McPake named Robbie Neilson as the unwitting culprit, but Livingston’s argument faltered on them not being certain of their offender. To a man, the Hearts players, were declaring their innocence.

They were all guilty of something though: allowing the closing moments to be significant; on chances created that should never have been the case. That said, Rix was overstating matters when he claimed it should have finished “five or six-nil”. Though it initially threatened to be, it was never quite that fluent a Hearts performance. It may yet sum up Hearts’ season: they started brilliantly, but never really sustained it.

After last week’s ill-judged attempt at altering the 4-4-2 formation that has got Hearts this far, there was a more familiar look to the home team. The trademark fast start to the match was back, too. Paul Hartley had already come close with a run and shot saved by Ludovic Roy on four minutes before Rudi Skacel produced a goal of individual brilliance in the ninth minute. Collecting the ball without much seemingly being on in front of him, he drifted by his marker, accelerated into space, almost casually looked up and crashed the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net with a 25-yard angled drive. It really was as good as it sounds. Andy Webster likened it to watching Henrik Larsson, a worthy compliment.

With that the one-man show was officially launched. With Livingston’s rather improvised looking 4-1-2-2-1 formation starting to struggle the gaps in it were filled with some Hearts quality. Roman Bednar, back from injury, chested the ball down for Calum Elliot, whose low cross was seized on by Skacel, creating time and space for himself before drilling a left-foot shot beyond the reach of Roy for 2-0. A mere 15 minutes in and already the only question mark relating to the result was how many Hearts would score. Or so it seemed.

It might have been three on 20 minutes. Saulius Mikoliunas cut inside from the right and when his effort was blocked well by Roy, the visiting goalkeeper did better still to stop Elliot’s rebound strike. Paul Dalglish’s powerful hit just over from a tight angle was a warning to Hearts, but Livingston’s lack of discipline suggested they were more capable of self-harm. After Julien Brellier had fouled Allan Walker, the Livingston midfielder took needless retribution and was booked himself. On the half-time whistle, James McPake bundled into Webster, grounding him, while Dalglish was a central figure in the ensuing mass altercation. During the interval, both those Livingston players were cautioned.

By the start of the second-half the rain had cleared and so had a few Livingston heads. That they recovered from two goals behind to Rangers earlier this term seemed to give them belief. The match needed a Livingston goal and it got it after 63 minutes; Walker’s strike from distance had enough on it to defeat Gordon and suddenly Hearts had some work to do. They almost grafted an instant reply, Skacel bursting through the middle before tapping it to his right for Bednar, but the striker ’s shot hit the post.

Hearts claimed for a penalty when Paul Hartley’s chip over Walker struck his opponent’s hand, though in the latter’s defence he wasn’t facing the ball at the time. He had a much clearer sight of it moments later when he headed wide when well-placed. Then came the throw-in goal that never was. Hearts still should have expanded their winning margin thereafter, Michal Pospisil hitting the post from an extraordinary angle, Hartley firing the ball wide from a straightforward one; but what they already had was enough.

The only miracle, perhaps, was that for once the day’s main Tynecastle controversy was not of Vladimir Romanov’s making.

STAR MAN: Rudi Skacel (Hearts)

Player ratings. Hearts: Gordon 5, Neilson 5, Pressley 6, Webster 6, Fyssas 7, Mikoliunas 6, Brellier 6 (Simmons 65min, 6), Hartley 7, Skacel 8, Elliot 7 (Cesnauskis 89, 6), Bednar 5 (Pospisil 76, 7)

Livingston: Roy 6, Mackay 5, Pinxten 6, Strong 6, Tierney 5, Vincze 6, Walker 6, Dair 6, Brittain 6, Dalglish 6, McPake 5

Booked: Tierney 32, Brellier 42, Walker 44, Dalglish h-t, McPake h-t

Referee: A Freeland

Attendance: 16,583

Taken from timesonline.co.uk