BLAST OFF BERRA CLINCHES WIN AS CHRISTOFF

EVENTS within seconds at the opposite ends of the M8 on Saturday might well have decided the destiny of a second place in the SPL and the possibility of a coveted spot in next season's Champions League.

Moments after Paul Hartley curling a sublime free-kick beyond Alan Combe to break the deadlock at Tynecastle, Aberdeen's Scott Severin was puncturing Rangers' lofty European aspirations at Ibrox with a crucial equaliser.

The two events, just seconds apart, conspired to send Hearts five points clear of the Glasgow side in the race for the runners-up slot with just four games remaining of what has been an enthralling campaign.

Christophe Berra secured Hearts' victory and also significantly boosted their goal difference when he headed home his first goal for the club two minutes from time.

Yet, while it would be churlish to deny the impressive Berra his moment of glory his late strike most certainly added insult to injury as far as Kilmarnock were concerned.

Berra, an 11th-hour stand-in for injured skipper Steven Pressley, was extremely fortunate to still be on the pitch after clipping the heels of Danny Invincibile as the Australian raced through on goal at the end of the first half.

Intentional or not Berra's intervention denied Invincibile a clear goalscoring opportunity and as the last defender the only decision open to referee Eddie Smith was a red card. But the official, whose performance left a great deal to be desired, bottled out of dismissing the Scotland Under-21 international much to the disgust of the enraged Killie boss Jim Jefferies.

Jefferies approached Smith in his dressing room for an explanation at the end of the match, but the whistler decided discretion was the better part of valour and opted to head back out on to the pitch for a warm-down instead.

Had Berra been shown the red card the outcome of a compelling contest could have been dramatically different as it would have conceivably denied Hearts the services of a fourth central defender.

Without Pressley, who was suffering a back injury, and minus the influential Andy Webster, who was again omitted amid controversial circumstances, Hearts found themselves another man down inside 25 minutes when Jose Goncalves limped off with a knee knock following a collision with Colin Nish.

Goncalves' injury sawIbrahim Tall brought out of hibernation and handed his debut nine months after arriving from Sochaux on a three-year deal.

Snubbed by both George Burley and Graham Rix the Senegalese defender emerged from obscurity to prove that, despite rumours to the contrary, he can actually play a bit.

Thrust into a contest which barely paused for breath Tall looked composed and assured at the heart of the Jambos defence alongside the inexperienced Berra. There was no shortage of endeavour from Killie, although they found the home side difficult to break down.

The bulk of possession belonged to Hearts with Roman Bednar passing up two gilt-edged opportunities and Saulius Mikoliunas guilty of squandering a great chance in the first half.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man and just when Kilmarnock appeared to be comfortably holding their own up stepped Hartley to the plate.

After Gordon Greer had taken out Rudi Skacel on the edge of the box there was never any doubt about who would take the resulting free-kick.

Indeed, there was never any doubt about the destination of the ball from the instant Hartley curled it delightfully around Kilmarnock's defensive wall and beyond the despairing dive of Combe.

The sell-out crowd appreciated the significance of the strike and celebrated as if they had already clinched second spot. The Tynecastle roof was almost raised as news of Aberdeen's equaliser filtered through and then Berra headed home in the dying minutes.

But while the Hearts fans went crazy at the final whistle coach Valdas Ivanauskas bore the look of a man who'd just lost his winning lottery ticket. The miserable Lithuanian said: "I'm happy with the performance even though we missed a lot of chances. The result at Ibrox was nice but we don't look at Rangers."

Ivanauskas also insisted Webster was not dropped as a result of his ongoing contract dispute and refused to rule out a return for both him and skipper Pressley in this week's Edinburgh derby.

He said: "Andy is rested. He is a very experienced international player. He is one player in a quality team.

"Steven is the leader of the team. He had aproblem in the last few days but we hope he will be ready for the game next week."

Jefferies wasn't in the best of moods afterwards either, although given the ill luck which has cursed his team over the last seven days his demeanour was more understandable.

The Killie boss said: "I went to see the referee to get an explanation because I don't think anybody could believe it, but he said he was going for a warm-down.

"Danny is an honest lad and he said his heels were clicked. The problem is that if the ref gives the foul he has to send the man off as he was the last man and it was a clear goalscoring opportunity.

"We didn't get the break last week and it was the same this week. That was also in the 43rd minute so I certainly won't be taking No.43 in the lottery.

"I can't criticise my players as they are in with a team who will probably win the Scottish Cup and get into the Champions League.

"If the player goes off in the first half who knows what might have been, but even after that I didn't think they looked like scoring in outfield play.

"In the end it took a really special freekick from Paul Hartley to put them in front, although our defending wasn't great at the second.

"But I can't fault my players who gave everything and if they give me that until the end of the season I will be well pleased."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paul Hartley (Hearts)

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION

58% 42%

SHOTS ON TARGET

4 2

SHOTS OFF TARGET

14 5

CORNERS

6 2

FOULS CONCEDED

11 23

OFFSIDES

5 4

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Craig Gordon: Amazing point-blank stop to deny Naismith a certain goal. 8

Robbie Neilson: Steady and composed at the back and got forward to good effect. 7

Christophe Berra: Lucky not to see red before scoring first goal for the club. 8

Jose Goncalves: Limped off after just 24 minutes following clash with Nish. 4

Takis Fyssas: Excellent distribution but limped off late on. 7

Rudi Skacel: Made some fantastic runs and linked the play well. Rediscovering early season form. 7

Bruno Aguiar: Protected the back four and also got forward. 6

Paul Hartley: Sublime free-kick put team in front. 8

Saulius Mikoliunas: Started brightly but faded and was replaced after an hour. 6

Roman Bednar:Neat touches but missed two gilt-edged chances. 6

Edgaras Jankauskas: Led the line brilliantly. Great touch, technique and almost impossible to dispossess. 7

Subs: Ibrahim Tall - Handed long-awaited debut and did well, 7. Deividas Cesnauskis - Caused Killie problems, 6. Calum Elliot - On for last 15 and looked lively, 4.

KILMARNOCK

MAN BY MAN

Alan Combe: No chance with either of Hearts' goals. 6

James Fowler: Worked his socks off. Booked for clattering into Mikoliunas. 6

Garry Hay: Another steady and reliable display from the Killie skipper. 7

Gordon Greer: Second start after long lay-off but lack of games didn't show. 6

Frazer Wright: Struggled to cope with Jankauskas but stuck gamely to his task. 6

Simon Ford: Impressive with the ball at his feet and strong in the air. 7

Gary Wales: Phenomenal work-rate and covered incredible amount of ground. No joy going forward but great defensive shift.7

Danny Invincibile: Clean through on goal and looked odds on to score when brought down by Berra. 6

Allan Johnston: Showed he still has plenty to offer despite advancing years. Killie's main creative force. 7

Steven Naismith: Ran himself into the ground. Had two good scoring chances but couldn't find a way past inspirational Gordon. 6

Colin Nish: Linked play well and held the ball up well but committed too many fouls. 6

MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE GAME:

Referee Eddie Smith's failure to send off Berra with the score at 0-0.

Taken from the Daily Record