Gordon the steadying hand as he signs new deal

FALKIRK 1-2 HEARTS

AT THE end of a turbulent week at Hearts, the club's owner, Vladimir Romanov, yesterday pulled a rabbit out of a hat when revealing that international goalkeeper Craig Gordon has signed a two-year extension to his contract that will keep him at Tynecastle until 2009.

The deal represents a significant coup for Romanov - who met Gordon, his father, Davie, and agent George Wright at Tynecastle shortly after 2pm - given that the player accepted the new deal just hours after suggesting in a newspaper interview that instability at the Gorgie club could see him leave.

"We are delighted at securing Craig for the future, it is proof of the club's intention to retain and attract top-quality international players," said a Hearts spokesman yesterday. "There is no doubt that this is an excellent day for the club and more importantly its fans."

Gordon, whose previous contract was due to expire in summer 2007, has been in outstanding form this season. The 23-year-old has cemented his place as Scotland's No 1 and has been linked with a move to Arsenal and Italian side Palermo. Worryingly for Hearts fans, the keeper has said in the past he has a desire to eventually play in the English Premiership and, following the sacking of head coach Graham Rix last week, admitted he was concerned by the mood of uncertainty surrounding Hearts.

Romanov has put those worries to bed for the foreseeable future, however, and supporters of the Tynecastle club will be delighted that the owner has secured a player who conducts himself so well both on and off the pitch.

Listening to Gordon in a corridor of the Falkirk Stadium on Saturday, as he calmly dissected both his team's crucial SPL victory which kept them six points clear of Rangers in pursuit of Champions League football next season and the latest episode of managerial turmoil at Hearts, it was difficult to credit that he remains a relative fledgling in goalkeeping terms at the age of 23.

"We are starting to get used to it now," said Gordon when asked about the effect of Rix's dismissal. "You don't quite get immune to it, but these things seem to happen on a regular basis at Hearts. It's just the way it is at this club.

"Our job is just to play football and that's what we have to do. The players are a tight-knit unit, we all get on very well and we all have the common goal of success this season. It's so close now that, no matter what happens in the background, we are fully focused on winning something for this football club.

"It's almost the case where coaching is irrelevant now, because as a group of players we are so desperate to get over the finishing line for that Champions League spot and win ourselves the Scottish Cup."

Gordon was diplomatic enough to dispense some credit in the direction of interim head coach Valdas Ivanauskas who, contrary to many pre-match expectations, did not tinker with team selection. The ill Andy Webster, replaced by the impressive Jose Goncalves in central defence, was the only change as Julien Brellier, apparently the bete noir of the watching Romanov, kept his place.

"Valdas is a winner and he expects that from every single player," said Gordon. "He is big on discipline, he likes the team not to lose their shape easily. He was drumming that into us over the past few days. It was a fighting performance today after the week we've had. It was never going to be pretty. Falkirk were really fired up and we had to match them for effort before we could even think about playing football. It was a huge win for us, we really needed it."

This was a match largely bereft of aesthetic appeal or technical merit, much of it played in an ill-tempered manner. A trademark burst from midfield allowed Paul Hartley to finish off Rudi Skacel's well-delivered cross to give Hearts a 22nd-minute lead, one they surrendered on the stroke of half-time when Roman Bednar's irrational handball to cut out Alan Gow's free-kick conceded a penalty. Gow's spot-kick was blocked by Gordon, but the Falkirk striker stabbed in the rebound.

The second half plumbed even greater depths in terms of poor-quality football, but one sweeping counter attack nine minutes from time gave Hearts a precious win. Substitute Calum Elliot's fine pass picked out Edgaras Jankauskas, singularly unimpressive until then, and after a poor first touch, the big Lithuanian striker got the break of the ball from a Jack Ross challenge to steer his shot beyond debutant Falkirk goalkeeper Mark Howard.

Hearts were subjected to ferocious antipathy from both the Falkirk players and the home supporters, much of it caused by Skacel's prima donna behaviour. The Czech midfielder has added much to the Scottish game this season with his guile and goals, but his propensity for diving and feigning injury is beyond the pale. "You saw it for yourselves, there were a few of them diving about out there," said Falkirk captain Steven Thomson. "Everyone wants to see it stopped, but it's just part and parcel of the game now. That's not the reason we lost the game, though. We lost because we didn't defend properly."

Gordon admitted to a growing sense of distaste towards Hearts from the rest of the Scottish football community but, with typical astuteness, hopes to make it work in their favour. "There is that aspect that we have to deal with," he said. "It's something that we haven't had before, but I suppose it proves we are doing well when people want to try and raise their game against us. A lot of people are looking for us to fall flat on our faces, but it hasn't happened this week. We rose to the occasion as we will try and do again next week in the [Scottish Cup] semi-final against Hibs.

"It's almost like a siege mentality, you could call it that I suppose, but we have enough spirit without adopting an attitude of 'everyone hates us'. It is a way of getting yourself going and if we can use it to our advantage, then we will."
Man of the match
Jose Goncalves

Slotted in impressively alongside Steven Pressley in the absence of Andy Webster and, with the captain now a doubt for Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Hibs because of the head injury sustained on Saturday, the imposing Portuguese stopper may find himself with a central role at Hampden.

Taken from the Scotsman