I GOT REF IN MY SIGHTS

GUTTED Livingston boss Paul Lambert last night blasted referee Alan Freeland for chopping off his side's freakish late equaliser against Hearts.

Lambert's troops looked dead and buried after a Rudi Skacel double had the Jambos coasting after 15 minutes.

But Allan Walker fired them back into contention after 64 minutes before Livi's chopped-off leveller had everyone talking four minutes from time.

Gabor Vincze's throw-in took a wicked bounce over keeper Craig Gordon's head and flew into the net.

Whistler Freeland ruled it hadn't touched anybody on its way in - a fact likely to be confirmed by TV pictures today - but livid Lambert had other ideas.

He raged: "For somebody to throw the ball 40 yards and for it to bounce over an international goalkeeper who's 19ft 5in you'd have to be short-sighted to not see a touch.

"The boys in the dressing room said there was a touch and I'd like to see it again. I've not seen the replay on the telly and if I'm wrong I will say so.

"The lads were great in the second half against a good side with a passionate crowd behind them - we just needed that bit of luck at the end."

Luck was not on their side though as Hearts survived a second-half fightback to seal Graham Rix's first win as boss on his Tynecastle debut and jump back to the top of the SPL.

After an ill-fated 4-5-1 formation saw the Jambos struggle to salvage a point in Motherwell last week Rix was wise to revert to the trusty 4-4-2 and his side put Livi on the ropes early on Calum Elliot and Paul Hartley both came close early on before Skacel made his mark with a majestic solo goal in eight minutes.

Picking the ball up at the half-way line the Czech dodged three yellow shirts on a relentless charge towards goal then unleashed a 25-yard strike into Ludovic Roy's top right corner.

It was a stunning strike and the midfielder pounced again seven minutes later for his 13th goal this term.

Elliot picked out Skacel with a precise cutback from the left and he took the ball past Dave Mackay before sending a left-foot shot past Roy.

Livi were struggling to cope with the onslaught and Paul Tierney copped a booking in 33 minutes for barging Saulius Mikoliunas outside the box.

Jambos ace Julian Brellier followed him into the book nine minutes later for a reckless lunge on Walker and the Livingston kid suffered the same fate for a revenge attack soon after.

However, it was just the start of the aggro as all hell broke loose on the stroke of half-time.

Livi striker James McPake had done little other than a glaring missed header from six yards a minute before the break - but he was soon the only name on everyone's lips after launching into a shocking, unprovoked attack on Andy Webster.

Seconds after the shrill of the half-time whistle McPake sent Webster crashing to the ground with a barge in the back then made a sharp exit up the tunnel. He left behind chaotic scenes as outraged Hearts players steamed in and a pushing match between Steven Pressley and Paul Dalglish almost saw the Livi man sent off in a case of mistaken identity.

As referee Freeland followed the players up the tunnel few expected McPake to re-emerge for the second half. But the striker escaped with a yellow card and Dalglish also earned a booking for his part in the stramash.

Afterwards McPake and Webster clammed up about the incident and the Livi star brazenly claimed he didn't even KNOW why he was booked.

Six minutes into the second half Skacel passed up a golden chance to complete his hat-trick when he hooked wide from Mikoliunas' pass.

At the other end Dalglish should have done better when McPake outjumped Webster to tee his strike partner up on the 18-yard-line.

However, midfield star Walker showed far more cutting edge as he pulled Lambert's side back into the game. His powerful low drive from the edge of the box gave Gordon no chance as it tucked neatly inside his right post.

At the other end the upright stopped Roman Bednar restoring Hearts' two-goal cushion after Skacel's powerful run and unselfish pass set him up at a tight angle.

Ref Freeland angered the home crowd in 71 minutes when he turned down penalty appeals after the ball struck Walker's arm in the box - but it wasn't deliberate as the Livi star didn't know too much about it.

Hearts made two second-half changes with Steven Simmons on for Brellier then Michal Pospisil replacing Bednar.

Pospisil almost grabbed a freak goal with five minutes left with a cross from the right touchline that eluded Roy and hit his far post.

The visitors pitched in hitkid Robert Snodgrass and Martin Scott for Dalglish and Walker before Vincze's bizarre throw-in sapped their spirit.

Hartley missed a sitter to make the game safe for Hearts at the death but in the end Skacel's classy first-half display was enough to win it

ref watch.

ALAN FREELAND had his hands full but shouldn't have let James McPake off with a booking for his half-time attack on Andy Webster. However, he was right to turn down appeals for a Hearts penalty. Rating: 5/10

Taken from the Sunday Mail