No crisis out of Hearts' drama

Falkirk 1 - 2 Hearts
Michael Grant at The Falkirk Stadium

JUST for the record, Hearts got through the day without sacking anyone. After a spell in which the club had seemed to be under another self-inflicted seige, though, their players left Falkirk yesterday having suffered a physical battering and a verbal one to match.

Falkirk’s Jack Ross gave a scathing assessment of the gamesmanship and lack of integrity shown by Rudi Skacel after Hearts made off with a 2-1 win to maintain their pursuit of a Champions League place. Dramas, big and small, accompany this club’s every move.

Ross and his team-mates were irritated by Skacel’s attempts to win free-kicks, feign injury and get his opponents booked. The animosity intensified at full-time when the gifted but petulant winger was accused of gloating to Falkirk players warming down on the pitch. “It maybe says a lot about him as a human being, but I don’t know him,” said Ross. “Some people can win with dignity. There are guys who know how to win and Hearts have guys like that too.”

Skacel’s tendency to fall regardless of the severity of an opponent’s challenge had also bemused Ross. “He’s a well-built lad, I have seen pictures of him in the newspaper with his top off and he’s a big, strong lad. I asked him why he couldn’t stay up. I don’t think he understood me. Players probably adapt the longer they stay in the British game.”

At least this amounted to talking about football rather than P45s. With Steven Pressley requiring three stitches in a head wound which is likely to rule him out of Hearts’ Scottish Cup semi-final with Hibs and even their next league fixture at Celtic Park a week on Wednesday, and Edgaras Jankauskas bundling home a late winner to keep Rangers at arm’s length in the championship, there was plenty to occupy Valdas Ivanauskas as he reflected on surviving round one in Vladimir Romanov’s managerial ejector seat.

The identity of the team selected by the new coach was certain to provide the first intrigue of the day. Andy Webster’s absence had the look of headline news. When Romanov infamously dictated the team which played against Dundee United in February Webster was excluded and abruptly withdrew from talks on a new contract. Here, with the owner supposedly pulling Ivanauskas’s strings, he was nowhere to be seen again. Ivanauskas and other Hearts sources dampened down the story by stressing he had succumbed to a stomach bug.

Another who might have been expected to suddenly disappear, Julien Brellier, was present and correct. Romanov had wanted Brellier left out against Rangers last week and Graham Rix and Jim Duffy’s decision to include him in the team contributed to that being their last game in charge. Yesterday Brellier’s selection reflected the fact the Hearts team was largely as it would have been had Rix still been in charge. Without Webster, Jose Goncalves slotted into central defence – he had a fine game – and the shape and personnel of the side were otherwise routine.

Pressley’s day was more eventful than most. He was booked, suffered a head injury which required bandaging and subsequently three stitches, committed the foul which led to Falkirk scoring an equaliser, and failed to re-emerge for the second half. “I do not have a good feeling about him for next week,” said Ivanauskas. Robbie Neilson also came off but his ankle knock was not serious.

Hearts were never able to impose themselves on a bruising, ugly match in the way that might have been expected against a Falkirk side with only one win in 16 SPL games, four 19-year-olds on from the start and Mark Howard and Karl Dodd making their debuts. They scored on the two occasions they got behind Falkirk, the first coming in the 21st minute. Falkirk could not be accused of having switched off – they had several bodies racing back – but the quality of Skacel’s hard low cross from the left was matched by the awareness of Paul Hartley’s run to the near post and his contact was enough to divert the ball over the goalline despite the attention of Mark Twaddle.

It was galling for Falkirk to have been picked off only seconds after squandering an excellent scoring chance of their own. Twaddle’s lovely cross into the Hearts penalty area exploited the fact Pressley was off for treatment but Tiago’s header missed the goal. Instead Falkirk’s embattled home supporters – still waiting to witness their first SPL win of the season here – had to wait until first half stoppage time. Pressley fouled Pedro Moutinho on the edge of the area and the danger to Hearts multiplied tenfold when Alan Gow’s free-kick provoked Roman Bednar into an inexplicable attempt to block with a raised arm. Suddenly the free-kick was a penalty, which Gow scored at the second attempt after Gordon’s admirable initial save.

The second half contained six of the game’s eight bookings and a spell of play which threatened to tailspin out of referee Alan Freeland’s control. It brought out the worst in Skacel, but Falkirk were no angels and their robust tackling reduced the game to an unappealing, tense scrap. Hearts’ pressure was unconvincing but finally told nine minutes from the end. They raced upfield after a Falkirk corner and when Calum Elliot fed the ball wide to Jankauskas his scuffed shot found the net despite the desperate efforts of Ross and Howard. Trust a Lithuanian to have the last word.

Taken from the Sunday Herald