Hibernian 2 - 1 Hearts

Hibernian – Riordan (16), Benjelloun (78)

Hearts – Bednar (45)

FIELDING a weakened team usually happens at the end of the season when nothing is at stake. For Hearts to put out the side they did in the Edinburgh derby when a Champions League qualifying place is still up for grabs was sheer folly.

There was no Andy Webster, Edgaras Jankauskas, Rudi Skacel or Julien Brellier in the starting line-up. Also, crucially for the club's fans, there was no explanation afterwards.

The Tynecastle faithful are on their fourth manager this season and have never lost faith in the club owner, Vladimir Romanov. The least they deserved was an explanation as to why four key players were not in the starting XI.

"Only questions about the game and the team that played please," said interim manager Valdas Ivanauskas after their defeat, giving less away than a KBG operative on a secret

mission. The suggestion that Romanov told Ivanauskas who he should play at Easter Road is a reasonable enough assump-tion.

If the club's owner didn't interfere, it would be fair to say the Hearts interim manager clearly isn't up to the job on a full-time basis as his selection was impossible to fathom.

It is clear that Webster is being given the cold shoulder for refusing to sign a contract extension, but that is no way to treat such a vital player at such a crucial stage in the season.

Compare the way he is being treated to Derek Riordan and Gary Caldwell, who refused to sign contract extensions at Easter Road, but who remain part of Tony Mowbray's plans.

The difference is that the Hibs manager is putting the short-term welfare of his club ahead of his own personal disappointment that the players refused to sign new deals.

Hearts supporters can quite rightly ask the question whether the Romanov camp is putting the welfare of the club ahead of teaching Webster a lesson for not signing an extended deal. The side that took the field against Hibs had a disjointed feel about it with Lithuanians, Deividas Cesnauskis and Saulius Mikoliunas struggling on the flanks.

You had to feel sorry for Paul Hartley, who had to carry the burden of responsibility in the middle of the park and who was given little support.

"You have to work with whoever comes in as there is a lot of competition for places," said the Scotland midfielder. "We usually break with a lot of pace, but that did not seem to happen. We did not string two passes together in the first half and that was where the damage was done."

Hibs took the lead in controversial circumstances through a first-half goal from Riordan. Ivan Sproule played the ball into the Hibs striker who shot past Craig Gordon but Steven Fletcher, although he did not touch the ball, was in the Hearts goalkeeper's line of sight but was not ruled offside.

Hearts got back into the game just before half-time after an almighty mess-up between Zbigniew Malkowski, the Hibs goalkeeper, and defenders Gary Caldwell and Chris Hogg.

The trio failed to stop Roman Bednar's powerful run into the box and Malkowski seemed to spill the ball at the feet of the Czech allowing him to equalise.

Abdessalam Benjelloun made his Hibs debut in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat against Hearts and has failed to make an impact since then. That changed at the weekend when he scored the winner and set off on an embarrassing and, frankly, stupid lap of honour.

He made straight for the Hearts supporters at the other end of the pitch and was stopped from sparking a full-scale riot by Malkowski who grabbed him on the 18-yard line. The Moroccan striker was quite rightly booked for his celebrations.

From a Hibs point of view, it was a vital win secured by a side that was more tactically astute than Hearts. Mowbray played Steven Whittaker in midfield in a 4-3-3 formation and it was an experiment that worked well.

Oumar Konde was man-marking Hartley who had a quiet game while Stephen Glass used all his experience on the left side to play Mikoliunas out of the game.

The alarm bells will be sounding in the Hearts dressing room after the defeat and they will be wondering which starting XI is selected to take on Celtic next Sunday.

The situation with Webster cannot be allowed to continue as his presence is badly missed in the centre of the Hearts defence and his experience is vital at such a crucial stage of the season.

Brellier is another vital part of the Hearts jigsaw as he sits deep which allows Hartley to push forward, knowing he has somebody covering for him. Jankauskas is another whose physical presence was missed and he should be allowed to play in the three games left.

Skacel remains a favourite with the fans and it is baffling that he remains on the bench while Cesnauskis, a naturally right-footed player, plays on the left side of midfield.

Romanov did not attend the derby match, preferring instead to watch it on television at his home in Lithuania. It would have not made good viewing for the multi-millionaire whose money has helped revitalise the club.

Hearts supporters will be hoping his meddling does not end their dream of Champions League football next season.

Taken from the Herald