Hearts skip a beat

HEARTS 0-0 INVERNESS CT

MOIRA GORDON
AT TYNECASTLE

FOREWARNED does not necessarily mean forearmed. Hearts manager Graham Rix had predicted this match had the potential to be bothersome. He was aware that Inverness have lost just one of their last 16 away from home and that having struggled to overcome them 1-0 earlier this season they would make it tough again but still the Tynecastle team were lucky to escape with a share of the points and maintain their status of being unbeaten at home this term.

A disallowed goal and a penalty that may have been but wasn't given, as well as two impressive saves from Scotland keeper Craig Gordon, kept the scoreline level, so while the home fans booed the officials off the pitch at the end of the match, both Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley and the Inverness contingent felt they should have been more appreciative of the part played by the men in black.

"It was definitely [a goal]," said Inverness captain Barry Wilson of Ross Tokely's second half "goal". The man deemed offside was Craig Dargo but Wilson said: "The linesmen have all been told to wait to see [who takes the ball] and there was no way that Ross was offside. We were pretty unfortunate."

Especially as Hartley held his hands up to the cruelty of another second-half decision. When Wilson tried to thread the ball through to Dargo, there was a Robbie Neilson handball en route but while the referee adjudged it to be accidental and waved aside claims for a penalty, Hartley admitted it was "a wee break for us. If had been at the other end we'd have been shouting for it."

Without the suspended Julien Brellier, the creative force of Paul Hartley was stemmed as he sat deeper to afford his back line some protection, the starting strikeforce of young Calum Elliot and Michal Pospisil were never cut-throat enough to trouble a well-organised, albeit makeshift Inverness defence.

The latest absence from the visitors' rearguard was Darren Dods, another victim of suspension, who was replaced by Stuart McCaffrey, returning after almost a year sidelined with a stress fracture of the spine. But there was no doubting Caley Thistle's backbone.

"That's why they are such a difficult side to play against," said Rix. "They are well drilled and organised and it's one of those games that you are frightened of. Because you know you have to force the issue, they will always get chances at the other end."

But there was a absence of the verve and explosive work expected of Hearts this term as they swapped their usual game and tried to force everything too much. In one of their most ramshackle starts of the season thus far, Hearts could not find a way through or round their dogmatic opponents and the indication that they have opted for a long-ball game, with over-ambitious passes rather than bear down on defences using fluid passages of play and movement will hardly imbue the sellers of those "BELIEVE" T-shirts with consumer confidence.

Because, if Hearts looked every inch a title-winning team earlier in the campaign, there was little evidence to support that view yesterday. The lack of fluency was the biggest problem. Too often the play was scrappy, the optimistic 50-yard pass preferred to the neat interplay and crisp one-twos which earned them points and plaudits as this season kicked off.

The fact that Celtic and Hibs were going head to head at Celtic Park at the same time was supposed to be the incentive the Tynecastle side needed, aware that victory would see them gain points on at least on of the teams nearest to them.

But Inverness were in no mood to become embroiled in the possible permutations for their hosts. They had their own cause to further. Sitting sixth in the table as the day's fixtures kicked off, three points would see them leapfrog fifth-placed Rangers, who play this afternoon, and maintain their advantage over the teams who would love to replace them in the top half of the table.

As the tension in the crowd began to transmit to the players on the pitch, Gordon was called on twice in quick succession to deny first Ian Black and then Brewster.

Samuel Camazzola had only just been introduced to the fray when he lost the ball in the 67th minute and Ian Black had a long-range belt at goal only to see Gordon it palm it round the post for a corner. Six minutes later it was Brewster he denied with another cracking stop.

It means that since Rix was installed as manager, the team have dropped six points in four games, compared with the four points which slipped by his predecessor George Burley during his ten league games at the helm. Hardly the kind of stats to cheer a Hearts support still packing into Tynecastle but less willing to join in the sing-a-long adulation of Vladamir Romanov.

With Rangers the opposition next week, one way for Rix to enhance his chances of victory would be to return Hartley to his more advanced role, where he is far more effective. It's a readjustment the player himself would welcome.

"The manager asked me to play a wee bit deeper and give a wee bit of protection in there," he said. "My game is going forward to get into the box, but sometimes you just have to protect the back four. Maybe he will change it next week. I hope so. But Julien is coming back so that gives the manager different options."

The fans will be hoping he utilises them.

Taken from the Scotsman