Bednar keeps Hearts in the hunt

Livingston 2
Hearts 3

THE suspicion that Livingston have on this occasion left it too late in their bid to escape relegation has hardened to the extent that the Almondvale side's demotion must now be regarded as an inevitability on account of some cruel events yesterday.

John Robertson's side gave their all, but not even a very apparent raising of standards could see Livingston take anything from the encounter with an equally determined Hearts. The Tynecastle team twice saw their lead eroded by Livingston, but finally claimed an unanswered winner in the dying moments through substitute Roman Bednar. Sadly for the home side, if even a performance of such verve can reap nothing else but admiration then their attempt to wriggle clear of bottom spot in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague appears doomed.

The old change-of-manager trick has yet to anoint Livingston with its usually dose of fortifying properties. Robertson has now seen his side lose both games since he took charge last month. There was no disgrace in this latest loss though, and no doubting Robertson's commitment. With his side having drawn level for a second time through a searing strike from Dave MacKay the manager could be seen wrestling with Hearts full-back Robbie Neilson for possession of a ball that had strayed out of play.

He might one day return to Tynecastle in a working capacity, but for now he is wholeheartedly engaged in a mission he hopes will benefit only Livingston. It is one which Robertson later refused to concede is a forlorn one.

The fact Livingston changed to a 4-3-3 formation in the moments after MacKay's 77-minute equaliser emphasised how much they needed the full quota of points, with Dunfermline then - and still - seven points ahead of the struggling Almondvale side. But it might have been a misguided ploy, certainly in terms of what followed. That said, a point would have helped little in their bid to over-haul Dunfermline.

In the end they failed to claim even this. If Livingston deserve the plaudits for a performance of maximum effort then Hearts must also receive acclaim for their refusal to be shackled. When the Tynecastle players saw the hardly prolific MacKay rifle an angled shot into the top corner of Craig Gordon's goal it can't have been easy to prevent belief draining from their souls. Hearts drove on, and dug out a winner with just three minutes remaining. A quickly-taken free-kick found Bednar on the right wing, and the Czech striker made impressively direct progress into the box, resisting the challenge of Jason Dair before calmly striking the ball beyond Roddy McKenzie. It is the goal that keeps Hearts in pole position for the Champions League berth their big-spending policy has anticipated.

Although they ultimately prevailed, the attendant pressure is clearly proving difficult to live with. The Tynecastle side survived a series of shaky moments in the opening minutes to take the lead through the impressive Bruno Aguiar. He had lingered on the edge of the box as Calum Elliot crossed from the left, and was in an ideal position to latch onto the subsequent defensive clearance. He was, though, hugely aided by a deflection off Richard Brittain which saw the ball loop over McKenzie and into the net. Hearts rarely displayed the composure required to take advantage of the foot-hold that had been so fortuitously presented.

Their best players were required to be in defence, with Christophe Berra coping well with the lively presence of Sam Morrow, the on-loan Livingston player whose Hibs affiliation gave him an added incentive yesterday. It also made him extra-damnable in the eyes of the away support, who awarded Morrow a Mexican wave of clenched fists whenever he made his way down the touch-line in front of them. Morrow was finally booked in the second-half after a clash with Neilson, and shot back a look of barely disguised contempt towards his tormentors.

The fury at least provided some heat in the bitterly cold conditions. And the temperature was further increased by Livingston's determination to make a game of it. Their equaliser a minute before the hour mark arrived straight from a free-kick that had been awarded after a foul by the back-tracking Edgaras Jankauskas. Brittain saw his effort curl wickedly in the box and though it tempted a number of heads there was no further touch required to see it land in the back of the net.

Hearts replied in clinical fashion. A flowing move down the right flank was supplied with a devastating incursion from Neilson, who spotted Deividas Cesnauskis' run inside his Livingston marker. The Lithuanian's cross was headed into the net by Jankauskas at the near post, although the striker's movement forward from an offside position was later questioned. It seemed improbable that Livingston, a team so adrift from safety and now experiencing fresh deflation, could summon up further valour. But this is a team renewed by the presence of the ball of energy that is Robertson. His promptings on the touch-line visibly lifted Livingston, though where the inspiration for MacKay's thunderbolt arrived from is anyone's guess; perhaps Marco van Basten's own strikers' manual. But no-one could be left in doubt as to who the goal had been dedicated, with the defender rushing straight to Robertson in the melee that followed.

While the strike had been fit to win any game, it didn't secure even a draw. Bednar's transition from sinner last week to saviour this week saw to that. The Czech striker was sent off within ten minutes of his last substitute's appearance but on this occasion provided a more sublime contribution, drifting in from the wing to drill home a precious winning goal. Whether it was deserved is a question the Hearts fans will have gladly left hanging in the icy West Lothian air.

Taken from the Scotsman