Hearts’ Champions League mission accomplished

The dream, fuelled by Vladimir Romanov's unfathomable wealth being showered upon Gorgie, was finally realised last night. Hearts, following this win, are guaranteed to finish second in the SPL and, after a 45-year wait, are finally entitled to another crack at the Champions League, a trophy last contested by them back in season 1960-61 when that jug was still just the plain old European Cup.

This dramatic rise of Hearts to such a lofty height produced a memorable scene at a packed Tynecastle last night. Longsuffering Jambos were sobbing with delight following the final whistle. It was a very fine and uplifting sight to behold.

Lord knows, this was a taut and nervy evening. Everyone knew what the stakes were for Hearts, and the fact that just one goal separated these teams for so long on the night meant that no home fan in the 17,327-packed arena could truly relax. The Hearts fans sang lusty anthems all night but most of these chants had a faintly desperate tone about them.

It was fitting, and typical, that it should be Paul Hartley who sealed Hearts' Champions League ticket. The midfielder cracked the penalty which settled this match past Jamie Langfield after 53 minutes to put distance between Hearts and a grafting Aberdeen team.

Alas, it wasn't all joy on Gorgie last night. A cloud continues to hang over the future of Rudi Skacel at the club, a cloud that hasn't been at all dispersed by Hearts' claim that they have bought out the remaining two years of the on-loan Skacel's Marseille contract.

At least Skacel played last night. Andy Webster was still posted missing for Hearts, reputedly through injury, which no doubt is the main factor, though it is an open secret that Webster and Hearts are at war over an extension to the player's contract, which expires next summer.

Mercifully for Aberdeen, there was no repeat of the torrent which Hearts unleashed on a traumatised Celtic at Tynecastle on Sunday, when Gordon Strachan's team were lucky not to be three goals down inside 15 minutes.

Instead, some competent handling by Jamie Langfield, a miraculously reborn Aberdeen goalkeeper, meant that some hopeful Hearts punts into the box gained little reward.

Peering down on all this from the stand was Valdas Ivanauskas, a Hearts coach (temporary commission) who couldn't look more stoney-faced if he was made of granite.

The unflinching Ivanaskaus was starting a two-match touchline last night and looked on bereft of emotion as he watched his team toil. The dugout bawling for Hearts

was left to John McGlynn, a Tynecastle first team coach who seems to have survived a thousand palace revolutions.

When Hearts did get in behind Russell Anderson and Scott Severin in the first half, their opportunities were wasted. From Roman Bednar's cut-back Deividas Cesnauskis fired wide in the opening moments, and then Edgaras Jankauskas, a Lithuanian giant with tidy feet, blazed over from around 16 yards.

This apart, for all Hearts' huff and puff, they achieved precious little before the interval, even when Skacel screwed wide from Bednar's cross, and Bednar himself shot straight into the belly of Langfield.

Aberdeen? Frankly, they didn't offer a lot, and having produced next to nothing, were even more handicapped after 33 minutes when striker Steve Lovell was injured and replaced by Darren Mackie.

As this match wore on and on the visitors still couldn't threaten Hearts, yet as long as the game had remained goalless, the Tynecastle nerves were very obvious.

The breakthrough for Hearts finally came after 53 gut-wrenching minutes for the Tynecastle faithful. A thicket of heads rose to meet Skacel's corner, and Bednar beat them all to head the ball towards goal.

Only Zander Diamond's deliberately raised hand stopped the ball from crossing the line, which won Hearts an immediate penalty from the referee, Stuart Dougal, and Anderson himself an instant yellow card.

The whole stadium seemed to hold its breath as Hartley prepared to run up and take the spot-kick. In the event, the midfielder fairly whacked the ball inside Langfield's right post before being mobbed by ecstatic team-mates.

In truth, this wasn't Skacel's best night for Hearts, indeed it probably hasn't been his best period for some weeks, ever since his future came up for debate.

The Czech was replaced after 66 minutes by Saulius Mikoliunas and offered Tynecastle some long, lingering waves as he trudged from the field. For all the adoration heaped on him, little had gone right for Skacel on the night.

Hearts could have gone two ahead after 72 minutes, but yet again Langfield, an excellent keeper on the night, spread himself to clutch Cesnauskis' downward header from Jankauskas' cross.

Aberdeen's misery on the night was compounded by a straight red card shown to Scott Severin after 80 minutes for a brutish-looking foul on Bruno Aguiar.

Hearts (4-4-2) Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Tall, Fyssas; Cesnauskis, Aguiar (Brellier 90), Hartley, Skacel (Mikoliunas 66); Jankauskas, Bednar (Pospisil 88). Subs: Banks, Berra, Wallace, Barasa. Booked Aguiar

Aberdeen (4-4-2) Langfield; McNaughton, Anderson, Diamond (Dempsey 66), Byrne; Nicholson, Severin, Foster, Smith; Lovell (Mackie 33), Crawford. Subs: Esson, Considine, Macauley, Maguire, Griffin. Sent Off Severin (79) Booked Diamond, Mackie. Referee S Dougal

Taken from the Herald