Lacklustre Hearts settle for scraping by

REUNIONS can be grisly affairs. Jim Jefferies, however, tends to take things a little far when, on visits to his Tynecastle alma mater, his intention seems to be to set fire to the old school.

The Kilmarnock manager's affection for Hearts is deep and lifelong, but he is savvy enough to recognise that self-interest is always best served when such emotional attachments are temporarily severed.

That he and his henchmen - a solid, committed and sometimes dangerous squad of players - should fail on this occasion to do irreparable damage to Hearts' Tennent's Scottish Cup aspirations could not be attributed to a lack of persistent endeavour.

They arrived in Edinburgh with mischief on their minds and the basic equipment for the job. And, but for a little bad luck and some mistiming that led to one or two mishaps, they might well have succeeded. Their return to Ayrshire with only their own fingers burnt was a source of undisguised relief to Graham Rix, his players and their supporters.

These two most recent non-Old Firm winners of the oldest trophy - Kilmarnock in 1997, Hearts the following year - could not, in truth, be said to have produced a match that would score well on style and presentation. Nor could the manner of victory be considered a reliable reference point when assessing the winners' prospects of regaining the cup at Hampden in the spring.

The details of the sabotage plan studiously concocted by Jefferies virtually ensured that it would be an attritional contest, with little room for the delicate touch or fluent movement and passing which would quicken the crowd's collective pulse.

The former Hearts manager's declaration of intent to cause bewilderment in his old team was contained in his unusual departure from an orthodox back four to a three-man defence, deploying five in midfield who were sure to cause traffic problems, and leaving the foraging to the towering Colin Nish and the smaller, nippier Gary Wales. It was a tactic which, Rix admitted had the desired effect. "Killie set themselves up to make it difficult for us," he said. "We expected that, and they succeeded. It should be acknowledged, too, that they are a good side.

"But I told our players that the main objective was to make sure we were in the draw for the fourth round. And, although I didn't think they were very good on the ball today, they did show good spirit to get there. After the way we lost to Celtic in the league last week, it was important for us to win this one. Mind you, I could have done without the last eight minutes or so."

That last remark was an allusion to the goal with which Nish, five minutes from the end of regulation time, with a further three for stoppages, halved the deficit the visitors faced after Steven Pressley's first-half header and substitute Jamie McAllister's strike soon after he had replaced Saulius Mikoliunas in the 70th minute.

Kilmarnock have been consistent late scorers this season and there was concern in the home dugout as well as in the stands over the possibility of their repeating the equaliser they had produced in the last minute against Hibs five days earlier.

Had they managed it, there could have been no reasonable argument with their entitlement to a replay. Having held Hearts prisoner for much of the game, they had also been a little unfortunate with their attempts at converting chances, most notably by Allan Johnston and Steven Naismith.

Naismith, along with the young Hearts forward, Calum Elliot, had been an exception to the general pedestrianism, showing quickness of thought and movement. Nor were Kilmarnock helped by the enforced removal of Wales in the 37th minute due to a broken nose.

The home side had a similar setback just six minutes after that, with Edgaras Jankauskas, victim of a hamstring injury, replaced by Michal Pospisil. Rix revealed the bad news afterwards that the Lithuanian striker, who had been unfortunate to hit the post with a ferocious 30-yard drive after only five minutes, could be out for a few weeks.

If Jefferies had a complaint about his team's efforts, it would concern the untypically slack defending when Pressley was given an almost casual header from a long Robbie Neilson throw to open the scoring at a time when the visitors had appeared the more threatening.

But it was Elliot's pace and commitment that spreadeagled the Kilmarnock defence - by this time, with Gordon Greer replaced by winger Stevie Murray, having reverted to a back four - and gave McAllister the chance to left-foot the cut-back high past Alan Combe from six yards' range.

"On balance, I think we deserved to take them back to Rugby Park for a replay," said Jefferies. "We played well, we competed and we had chances. Our system gave them problems, with Naismith and Johnston controlling midfield. With our record of late goals, we were never going to be out of it, but it didn't quite come for us."

Following the potentially devastating manner in which they had lost to Celtic on New Year's Day, perhaps a little tremulousness from Hearts in the closing stages was understandable. Avoiding a repeat is a significant step towards complete rehabilitation.

Taken from the Scotsman