BULLY'S-EYE

KILMARNOCK 1 HEARTS 0

HEARTS' physical approach has been the hallmark of their success this season but Kilmarnock took them on at their own game on Saturday and administered a comprehensive beating.

Killie bullied Graham Rix's men into submission in a thoroughly absorbing encounter which was at times brilliantly brutal yet was also laced with skill, energy and enthusiasm.

There was no quarter asked and no quarter given at Rugby Park as the Ayrshire outfit and second-placed Hearts served up arguably the most entertaining game of the campaign.

The action was relentless from the first minute until the last with Kilmarnock deservedly emerging on top at the end to inflict an almighty blow on Hearts' hopes of clinching a spot in next season's Champions League.

Tactically Jim Jefferies left Rix trailing in his wake as the home side nullified Hearts' creative flair and restricted their attacking options to set-pieces and long throw-ins.

Their victory was the first in 13 attempts against their bogey side and while it was a team effort there were some outstanding individual contributions.

Amidst all the mayhem and constant flurry of meaty challenges stood Allan Johnston, conducting affairs from his central midfield berth. The former Rangers and Hearts man might have enough money in the bank to keep him and his family secure for the rest of their lives yet his desire, hunger and commitment for Killie is testament to his love for the game.

The veteran Sorcerer ran the show alongside youthful apprentice Steven Naismith who has been a breath of fresh air for Scottish football this season.

Hearts simply had no answer to the inventiveness of Johnston and directness of Naismith and the scoreline flattered a team bereft of not only suspended Steven Pressley and Rudi Scakel but also of ideas.

Straight from the off Killie fired into their opponents, obviously fired up by Rix's pre-match assessment that if both teams played well Hearts would emerge comfortable victors.

The tackles flew in from both sides with referee Steve Conroy prepared to let almost everything go.

In 21 minutes Neil McCann felt the full brunt of David Lilley, who welcomed him back to Scotland with a shuddering but legitimate tackle.

McCann had looked lively on his debut until that point but moments later he limped off with medial ligament damage to his left knee. He will undergo a scan today and could be out for up to eight weeks.

Five cautions were dished out although Robbie Neilson could have committed murder and the lenient official still wouldn't have sent him off.

The Hearts full-back committed at least half a dozen misdemeanours after being yellow-carded for fouling Naismith and even a last-man foul on Wales and a handball were not deemed serious enough for him to walk.

Thankfully, Conroy's deficiencies did not alter the outcome of the match which was settled in the 46th minute when Danny Invincibile lashed home after a Nish shot broke kindly off Takis Fyssas.

Gary Wales should have doubled the advantage before Nish put himself forward for the miss of this and any other season. The Killie striker had the full goal at his mercy when Wales rolled the ball into his path, however he somehow contrived to crash his effort off the base of the post.

Fortunately for Nish his howler didn't have any bearing on the match, much to the relief of boss Jefferies.

The manager said: "I don't think Hearts could have any complaints. My only one is that we should have been up 3-0 as Wales and Nish missed great chances. Thankfully it didn't cost us, although I was a bit twitchy at the time.

"It was a fantastic performance from every one of my players and there were outstanding performers all over the pitch.

"Hearts have that physical element all teams need and we had to match that. I thought we matched them and were terrific in that area."

Jefferies also took great delight in proving Rix couldn't have been more wrong with his pre-match observations.

He added: "It would have been unjust if we hadn't won the game. We heard Graham saying before the game that if they play well and we play well they would win easily.

"But if one team plays well the other doesn't get the chance to play well and that's what happened. We never allowed Hearts to get on top of us.

"They created very little compared to us being very dangerous when we went forward. I thought it was one of our best performances of the season."

The manner of Hearts' performance has left Rix worried his side could fail to build on the excellent work carried out by his predecessor George Burley. Rix said: "There's still a lot to play for and we're still second in the league. Any more performances like that and all the good work beforehand this season could be thrown away. I think the boys realised that at the end of the game.

"We were not at the races, nowhere near determined enough and it's disappointing because that's what we worked on all week.

"We missed Skacel and Pressley because they're good players and we lost McCann but even before he went off I could sense we weren't there.

"I told the guys they have to realise they are a big scalp and they are there to be shot at. They have to handle that and they won't get an easy game anywhere this season."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Steven Naismith (Kilmarnock)

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION

51% 49%

SHOTS ON TARGET

5 2

SHOTS OFF TARGET

11 6

CORNERS

2 4

FOULS CONCEDED

11 13

OFFSIDES

1 2

KILMARNOCK

MAN BY MAN

Alan Combe: Solid and secure. Made terrific stop to deny Pospisil in first half. 7

James Fowler: Revelling in new central midfield role. Good foil for Johnston. 7

Garry Hay: Arguably most consistent player in the SPL this season. Another top-notch display. 8

David Lilley: Committed and uncomplicated but effective. 7

Simon Ford:Kept cool under pressure as Killie survived a late onslaught. 7

Frazer Wright: Magnificent at back. Made number of crucial blocks and clearances. 8

Gary Wales:Worked hard and unlucky not to get on scoresheet. 7

Danny Invincible: In right place at right time to score at start of second half. 7

Allan Johnston: Outshone Hartley as he ran show in middle of park. 8

Steven Naismith: Breath of fresh air. Had Killie fans on edge of their seats every time he touched ball. 8

Colin Nish: Proved real handful for Hearts but horrendous miss near end. 7

Sub: Gary McDonald - Thrown on to waste time, 2.

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Craig Gordon: No chance with goal. Didn't put foot wrong apart from that. 6

Robbie Neilson: Booked and could easily have walked for series of tackles on Naismith who gave him runaround. 5

Takis Fyssas: Lack of awareness cost Hearts dear as his lapse led to goal. 5

Andy Webster: Marshalled defence efficiently in absence of banned Pressley. 7

Christophe Berra: Filled in for Pressley and did reasonably well. 6

Julien Brellier: Spent the 90 minutes fouling everything that moved. 5

Paul Hartley: Struggled to stamp authority on game. 6

Saulius Mikoliunas: Contributed very little. Hauled off at break. 4

Michal Pospisil: Decent shift up front. Denied goal by great save from Combe. 6

Calum Elliot: Gets into good positions but needs to brush up on finishing. 6

Neil McCann: Looked lively before limping off after just 23 minutes of debut. 4

Subs: Jamie McAllister - Replaced McCann but didn't contribute much, 5.

Nerijus Barasa - Booked for reckless tackle seconds after coming on at break, 4.

Deividas Cesnauskis - Quiet 20 minutes, 3.

MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE GAME:

Neil McCann's departure 23 minutes into his debut removed Hearts' main attacking threat and killed off any hope they had of winning.

Taken from the Daily Record