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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 12 Aug 2006 Hearts 0 Falkirk 0 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | Rob Robertson | auth-> | John Underhill |
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Hearts 0 - 0 FalkirkROB ROBERTSON at Tynecastle August 14 2006 Hearts have their problems on the park and may now have complicated matters off it by bringing in a new Russian coach to work behind the scenes at Tynecastle. The Herald understands Anatoli Korobochka, 51, has spent the last week familiarising himself with the club and will help to pinpoint new players. There has been no formal announcement from the club regarding Korobochka's involvement, but it is understood he will aid the current director of football Eduard Malofeev. The 51-year-old has coached at several small Russian clubs in the past and also had a behind-the-scenes role with CSKA Moscow in 1999. There was a time when Hearts parted company with coaches at the drop of a hat but now they seem to be collecting them. Valdas Ivanauskas remains in charge but with owner Vladimir Romanov looking for instant success and with failure to make the Champions League group stages looming, who knows what the future holds for the Tynecastle outfit and their current first-team coach. Two wins and a draw is a good start to the season but there is still a spark missing in the current Hearts side compared to the one which lifted the Scottish Cup last year. Not having Paul Hartley available is clearly a negative but they also lack someone to put their foot on the ball and slow play down. Hearts supporters booed their side at the close of play on Saturday and with some justification, as at times they had a kick-and-rush style which was dreadful to watch. Compare that to the style of Falkirk who passed superbly and in Russell Latapy had a player who was magnificent and relaxed on the ball. As Hearts huffed and puffed Latapy played the short ball into feet and went for the return. Simple football it may have been, but it was a delight to watch and very effective. Falkirk could count themselves unlucky all their silky play didn't lead to a goal. Their manager John Hughes, who had earlier been joking with the Hearts fans behind the dugout, had a rush of blood to the head at half-time when he waited behind to argue with Hearts strikers Michal Pospisil and Roman Bednar. He was correctly sent to the stand for his behaviour, but clearly it did not scare Pospisil much. The Czech Republic striker, with a smile on his face, said afterwards: "I know [Hughes] and he is very motivated. He was angry but I don't know why as he speaks very fast and I did not understand what he was saying." Hughes spent the second half shouting down from the stand to his assistant Brian Rice on the touchline as Falkirk survived a late Hearts surge to take a point. The only other talking point of the game came when Kenny Milne shoved Bednar after the Falkirk player claimed the Czech internationalist was threatening to headbutt him. Bednar didn't carry out his threat, while Milne did raise his hands against the Hearts striker, which meant the Falkirk player was very fortunate to pick up a yellow rather than red card. One of the most imposing figures on the pitch was Falkirk's 6ft 5in goalkeeper Scott Higgins, who left behind his home in Surfers Paradise in Australia for the joys of the Scottish Premierleague. He had been so desperate to play in Scottish football he had his first trial with Dundee United at 17 and others with Dunfermline, Stirling Albion, Clyde and Inverness. On every occasion he was rejected until, at the age of 30 and after a long spell with Queensland Roar in Australia, he was plucked from obscurity by Falkirk. He seems to have been a good acquisition as Higgins, who has a Scottish mum and who used to work in the Village Bar and Bistro in Dunblane when he was in Scotland, looked a confident figure. "I sent a resume to Falkirk as I have a British passport through my mum and they liked what they saw and I got the chance to sign," said Higgins. "I'm on a 12-month contract and I hope to do well. My wife is a policewoman back in Australia so she has taken a year's leave of absence to come to Scotland with me. "I enjoyed playing at Tynecastle as Hearts are a fantastic side and for us to come away with a point is a good result and to remain unbeaten is great."  Taken from the Herald |
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