JANKS FOR THE DIG-OUT

FALKIRK 1

HEARTS 2

EDGARAS JANKAUSKAS dug his fellow Lithuanians out of a huge hole to keep Hearts' Champions League dream on track.

Owner Vladimir Romanov's decision to bin Graham Rix and replace him with Valdas Ivanauskas almost backfired big time as Jambos toiled.

But with Rangers threatening to narrow the gap to four points the big striker stepped up with nine minutes left to bury the ugliest winner he'll score all season.

To Ivanauskas though it was probably the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

And if luck is as big a factor as ability he has a fair chance of succeeding where Rix andGeorge Burley failed by surviving in the waiting room to managerial damnation that is the Hearts dugout.

Make no mistake - the Jambos were lucky to escape with all three points.

After Paul Hartley had opened the scoring in the 22nd minute they shut down and Alan Gow levelled on half-time, slotting home the rebound when his penalty was saved by Craig Gordon.

But after a torrid second half scarred with bookings Jankauskas stepped up to bail Hearts out.

And Ivanauskas admitted: "The second half was a fight but we won. "The only thing I told them before the game was we needed three points and although it was difficult that's what we got.

"The pressure is difficult to handle but it's a good pressure and the support was unbelievable."

Watched by Romanov in the stand Ivanauskas resisted any temptation to stamp his hallmark - or his owner's - on Hearts' clear strongest 11 with only Andy Webster missing through illness.

More significant though was the inclusion of midfielder Julien Brellier given Romanov's apparent contempt for the Frenchman.

Falkirk were more concerned with the inability of Rudi Skacel to stay on his feet.

Three times Skacel collapsed in perfectly fair 50-50 tackles with Jack Ross - and the fact ref Alan Freeland was suckered into giving a free-kick for one almost led to the opener in five minutes.

Hartley's dead ball cannoned back to the Czech on the 18-yard line but debut keeper Mark Howard - on loan from Arsenal - flew low to his left to save.

Falkirk's snapping midfield play was keeping Hearts out of their stride although Paddy Cregg was lucky to escape when he chopped Jankauskas in the box.

But the game turned on its head midway through the half.

Bairns could have been ahead when stopper Tiago's flashing header from Liam Craig's cross scraped inches past.

Within 30 seconds they found themselves behind instead.

And while the cheating side of Skacel does him no credit it's hard to argue with the kind of burst he provided to tee up the opener.

Blasting into the box on the left his low ball was perfect and although it looked more like Mark Twaddle had bundled in an own goal Hartley was more than happy to claim the final touch.

But Hearts failed to nail down their advantage and seconds from the break Falkirk levelled amid fury from the Hearts bench.

Gow's 25-yard free-kick was fisted down by Roman Bednar in the Hearts wall and Freeland didn't hesitate to give the penalty.

And although Gow's kick was saved down low by Gordon he squeezed in the rebound.

Ivanauskas took his wrath out on fourth official Stephen Finnie - but he'd have been better saving it for his players.

He was dealt another blow when skipper Steven Pressley stayed indoors at the break, unable to stem the blood after a clash of heads with Jean Lecsinel.

The blood was clearly pumping through Falkirk's veins though as Freeland fought to keep a grip on the game.

An outrageous dive from Brellier infuriated the Bairns and saw Craig and Twaddle booked in quick succession for tackles on Robbie Neilson and Bednar.

Brellier and Jankauskas quickly followed for revenge missions on Craig and Twaddle.

If it hadn't been for the bookings after the break there would have been nothing worth talking about until Jankauskas' ill-deserved winner.

Tiago gifted possession to Brellier and let the Jambos break at pace with subCalumElliot finding Jankauskas wide open on the left of the box with a great ball.

The striker's first touch was chronic but he still squeezed a shot off Ross and under Howard.

Gutted Bairns boss John Hughes sighed: "It's the same every week. We stood up well, we have the youngest side in the SPL - but beat ourselves with the second goal.

"Give Hearts credit though. They lost their captain, they've been through a lot but dug it out - I wish we could do that."

refwatch

ALAN FREELAND struggled to keep a lid on this. Booked EIGHT but let Skacel and Brellier away with blatant diving. Rating: 5/10.

Taken from the Sunday Mail