High five

By Michael Grant and Natasha Woods

HEARTS moved tantalisingly closer to securing a place in the Champions League after a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock lifted them five points clear of rivals Rangers. Goals from Paul Hartley and Christophe Berra strengthened their hold on second place in the SPL with just four games left to play.

If Hearts win the Edinburgh derby at Easter Road on Saturday they will be eight points ahead of Rangers before next Sunday’s Old Firm game at Parkhead and practically uncatchable in their quest to become the first non-Old Firm team to represent Scotland in the top tier of European competition.

However, the game at Tynecastle was not without controversy, for Kilmarnock were aggrieved that Berra had not been dismissed late in the first half after he clipped the heels of Danny Invincibile as the Australian was advancing on goal.

Berra, whose first goal for Hearts secured the points late in the game, acknowledged he was not sure whether he had made contact with the Kilmarnock player or not, but if he had, it had been accidental and not deserving of a red card.

While news of the scoreline from Ibrox sparked joyous celebrations at Tynecastle, Berra was not ready to write off Rangers’ challenge just yet, with 12 points still to be played for and two derbies next weekend as Celtic take on Rangers and Hearts travel to Easter Road.

“Five points can easily be caught up if we don’t perform or we take our foot off the pedal,” said the young centre-half, who was chosen to start ahead of Scotland international Andy Webster, who surprisingly didn’t even make the substitutes bench.

Valdas Ivanauskas, the interim head coach at Hearts, said he had chosen to rest Webster, although there is mounting speculation that the player’s selection, or rather non-selection, is related to the situation concerning negotiations over a contract extension.

At Ibrox, Rangers manager Alex McLeish claimed the race for the remaining Champions League spot could still go to the final day of the season despite falling even further behind Hearts yesterday.

Rangers could only draw 1-1 with Aberdeen and face relegation to the Uefa Cup although McLeish said the conclusion to last year’s title race, when the club came from behind to win the title on the closing day, would remain as an inspiration.

“Last year we were in a very similar position and we know what happened in the final game, so that’s the belief we have to have in the camp.”

In what had the look of a pivotal moment in the season, Scott Severin’s equaliser for Aberdeen at Ibrox came in exactly the same minute as Hearts’ opener at Tynecastle. “That’s very romantic,” said McLeish. “That’s a great storyline but there’s nothing we can do about it, we just have to look on to our next game.”

Meanwhile, at Love Street, St Mirren defeated Dundee 2-1 to win the First Division and chairman Stewart Gilmour insisted that if the club had to get undersoil heating fitted to ensure promotion, they would do so. “Irrespective of what happens, we will take our place in the SPL,” he said.

Taken from the Sunday Herald