Miko can come up trumps in card row

WITH one flash of Mike McCurry's red card, Saulius Mikoliunas' world was once again plunged into turmoil.

The Lithuanian had been on the Ibrox pitch for barely 20 minutes when he was dismissed for an ill-advised tackle on home skipper Barry Ferguson. The challenge didn't appear to be the worst foul committed during the Jambos' disappointing 1-0 defeat in Govan but McCurry wasted no time in banishing the midfielder for a dreaded early bath.

Trooping off the park, Mikoliunas cut a disconsolate figure as memories no doubt came flooding back of his infamous Tynecastle tangle with Andy Davis nine months earlier in a match against the same opposition.

Hearts looked to have dealt a severe blow to the Light Blues' championship bid in March as that game moved into injury time with the scores level at 1-1, Mark Burchill having levelled the game in the closing minutes. Chaos ensued, however, when Davis ruled that Lee Miller had fouled Sotirios Kyrgiakos in the box despite Hugh Dallas seeing nothing untoward in the forward's challenge as the Greek attempted to get his head to Hamed Namouchi's high ball.

In the stramash which followed, the visitors' Dado Prso was sent off for tangling with Craig Gordon but it was the incident involving Mikoliunas which sent shock waves around Scottish football.

Incensed at the award of a penalty kick, the Lithuanian raced towards Davis and barged the official in the chest. He, too, was promptly dismissed by Dallas - his first sending-off in his career - and had earned himself a second red card before walking down the tunnel as Fernando Ricksen clinched a controversial victory deep into stoppage time.

The disgraced Jambo was hit by a five-match ban by the Scottish Football Association, a suspension which was later reduced to three matches.

Although he came back for his side's last few matches after the split, he never recaptured the sparkling form he showed soon after his arrival from Kaunas in January.

With confidence still brittle this season, his displays have continued to be below par, prompting the question if he ever fully recovered from his brush with the authorities.

Back in favour under new head coach Graham Rix after a barren spell while George Burley was in charge, the 21-year-old was left looking shellshocked by the severity of his latest punishment.

His team-mates were quick to plead for leniency at the time and today Jamie McAllister insisted that McCurry had called it incorrectly and said that the Lithuanian internationalist will use his perceived injustice as a catalyst for improvement.

"I don't think Miko's tackle deserved a straight red card," said the Scotland player. "Steven Thompson made a bad challenge on Robbie Neilson after he came on and didn't even get a booking. For Miko to have got a red was a bit harsh and I think a yellow would have been sufficient.

"I am sure it won't affect his confidence. He's a bubbly character and I don't think this will impact on him.

"Hopefully, in a way it will make him stronger and he'll be more eager to come back and do well.

"He's a lively enough person and we're certainly not disappointed with him over his dismissal. You have to go in for tackles like that. Sometimes you win them, other times you don't."

The red card did little to affect the course of the match with the game already beyond the lacklustre Jambos.

Not for the first time under Rix, Hearts have struggled to hit the ground running in games and Saturday's poor display was the more disappointing given they had marched into Govan sitting proudly in second place a daunting 14 points clear of their hosts.

The 90 minutes were a huge anti-climax for the fans who made the journey west and McAllister admitted the players were left struggling for answers when asked to explain their performance.

"The guys were very disappointed as we didn't even look like scoring at Ibrox," he said. "We never created anything in the final third but I suppose you have to give credit to Rangers for good defending.

"We didn't start the way we should have and that's been the story for the last couple of games. The gaffer told us in the dressing room before the match how important it was to start on the front foot. We didn't do it, though. We allowed them possession in midfield and that caused us problems."

He added: "The boss has asked us why we have not been starting games properly and we don't know why.

"We did it for the first 14 games of the season but in the last three or four matches it hasn't been the case and we can't pinpoint the reason why.

"We went to Ibrox on Saturday full of confidence and looking for a result. We thought that if we played the way we can then we would have an excellent chance of beating them.

"It's all about belief and we have to believe that we can come to places like Ibrox and win."

With Greek defender Takis Fyssas back home attending the birth of his first child, McAllister climbed off the treatment table to line up at left-back at the weekend. He had been toiling to shake off a knee injury sustained playing for the Scotland Future team against Poland, the problem having ruled him out of the draw at home to Inverness Caley Thistle the previous week.

"I trained Thursday and Friday having not done much for nine days or so but the knee's feeling quite good," he said.

"Takis was away back home for the birth of his first child and we'll have to wait and see what happens when he comes back.

"I'll be fighting for the jersey and there's no doubt that competition for places is good for a football team."

The Jambos will be hoping to ease the pressure on boss Rix with a good result against Falkirk on Boxing Day.

Supporters have been growing increasingly impatient with their team's poor performances since the former England internationalist took over.

McAllister, though, insists the onus is on the players to address the issue.

"We have got to pick ourselves up and start looking to get back to winning ways against Falkirk," he said.

"I know the fans aren't happy but that just shows you how the expectations have risen here just now. We have had a few draws and that has caused them to be unhappy but we are the ones who have built those expectations and that means we should be able to go to Ibrox and do better than we did on Saturday."

Taken from the Scotsman