Dream is more real than ever for Rix

Hearts 3 - 0 Aberdeen
Alan Campbell at Tynecastle

THE shock result from Ibrox had left the delicious prospect of a Hibs-Hearts Tennent’s Scottish Cup final wafting in front of the capital’s football fans prior to kick-off at Tynecastle, and it took only 45 minutes to complete the next step of the dream. Zander Diamond’s 45th-minute sending off in the lead up to Hearts’ third goal confirmed Aberdeen’s demise.

It wasn’t that the visitors played badly, although losing Diamond was a self-inflicted injury. Rather, the difference in resources between the sides has now created a gap all too evident in what was likely to have been an easy win with or without the Aberdeen defender on the pitch for the second half.

Having bought a whole new side during the January transfer window, Hearts used four of them in the course of the game. More significantly, they played this tie without the suspended Paul Hartley and flu victims Rudi Skacel and Takis Fyssas, yet barely missed the injured stars.

The only worrying note of the second half for Hearts was a knee injury to Beslija, who was stretchered off with eight minutes to go. Graham Rix said it was too early to assess whether he would be fit for Tuesday night's Premierleague game against Dundee United.

In Hartley and Skacel’s absence, Julien Brellier seized the midfield before a sprained back forced his substitution in the second half.

Just as pleasing for Rix, strikers Michal Pospisil and Calum Elliot scored the first goals before Steven Pressley, returning from a two-game suspension, converted the penalty that ended the tie just before half-time.

Aberdeen had come back from a two-goal interval deficit in the previous round against Dundee United, but there was never any prospect of a repeat with Hearts, hard on the heels of demolishing Hibs, returning to their early-season form. Jamie Smith’s tireless chasing of lost causes summed up another fruitless afternoon for Aberdeen.

The Dons were furious about the penalty award, claiming Diamond had initially made contact with Elliot outside the box, but that seemed a moot point from the stands and the central defender would have been dismissed anyway as the Hearts striker was about to pull the trigger when one-to-one against keeper Jamie Langfield.

“The lads say he [Elliot] wasn’t in the box,” said a disgruntled Jimmy Calderwood, who was also unhappy about referee Kenny Clark’s failure to award his side a penalty in the 24th minute when Andy Webster appeared to wrestle Stevie Crawford in the box.

The two incidents led to Aberdeen skipper Russell Anderson and Langfield remonstrating with Clark as the sides left the field at half-time, while Calderwood made his own point by refusing to shake hands with stand-side linesman Jim Lyon at the end.

For all Aberdeen’s sense of injustice, the fact is they failed to capitalise on a stroke of ill fortune that could easily have fatally undermined Hearts.

“Skacel and Fyssas both turned up for the game feeling a bit rough – it was a big decision for me, but I decided not to risk them,” revealed Rix. “They had flu symptoms and I sent them home straight away.”

Jose Goncalves replaced Fyssas at left back, with the club’s record signing, Mirsad Beslija, given the chance to make the troublesome right-midfield position his own.

With these players taking time to fit in, Aberdeen, encouraged by a noisy support, held their own in the opening 20 minutes but then fell behind. There was very little danger with Kevin McNaughton shadowing Elliot on the right, but the Aberdeen left back allowed his opponent to whip in a low cross which Pospisil converted.

Four minutes later Crawford was adamant he was denied a penalty. “He had his arms round my waist and I was prevented from getting to the ball,” said the striker. “It might sound like sour grapes, but when you’re inside the six-yard box there’s a good chance of scoring.”

Aberdeen later claimed far-side linesman Neil Brand had given two different versions of events, and there was further trouble for Calderwood’s side in the 34th minute when they went two behind. The goal was reminiscent of the first scored by Hartley against Hibs the previous Saturday, but this time it was Deividas Cesnauskis who cut the ball back from the left and Elliot who scored.

The strike, predictably, took the wind from the sails of the visitors and their supporters, although Crawford, set up by Smith, sent in a fierce curling shot which only narrowly flew wide of Craig Gordon’s left hand post. Cesnauskis went close at the other end, but the nail in Aberdeen’s coffin arrived almost on half-time when Diamond took Elliot’s legs from behind as he seemed set to beat Langfield.

There was no question about the red card, but Aberdeen disputed the penalty. When Clark restored order it was left to Pressley to step forward and give his side an unassailable lead.

The 10-man Dons, with John Stewart on at half time for Richard Foster, battled on in the second period, but by then their Scottish Cup hopes were well and truly buried.

Taken from the Sunday Herald