PIN UP BOY

HEARTS 4

INVERNESS CT 1

HEARTS may have missed out on Champions League riches but the Tynecastle club look to have struck gold with Chilean striker Mauricio Pinilla.

The hitman came in from the cold to notch a memorable SPL debut goal for the Jambos as they dumped Caley Thistle at Tynecastle after their bitterly disappointing midweek Euro exit at the hands of Greek side AEK Athens.

Pinilla took his place in a Hearts line-up that included five changes from the side that lost in Athens and no fewer than six players making their SPL and home debuts - Pinilla, Jamie Mole, Andrew Driver, Christos Karipidis, Marius Zaliukas and Tiago Costa.

However, the absence of midfielder Julien Brellier threw his future at the club into doubt after the Frenchman appeared to have been axed after his sending off against AEK.

Brellier, who was booked for wearing an earring and then subsequently red-carded against the Greeks, didn't feature in the 18-man listed squad.

When asked to clarify if his exclusion was because Brellier was injured, Hearts boss Valdas Ivanauskas three times snapped curtly: "Hearts had players injured and a lot of players rested."

By the end of the afternoon the scoreline may have been harsh on the visitors and flattered the home side but three Hearts players notched their first goals for the club.

It was Pinilla though who caught the eye in attack alongside Mole and gave Ivanauskas plenty of food for thought over future selections.

With regular strike force of Edgaras Jankauskas, Roman Bednar and Michal Pospisil all out injured, Pinilla finally made his debut. And he showed Jambos the way by pointing them on the road to victory by snatching the opening goal after 20 minutes.

Neil McCann's cross from the left was begging to be smashed home and Pinilla duly obliged by shrugging off his marker and volleying the ball.

It was a sublime finish and he made such a difficult skill look easy. In an instant a new Hearts hero was born.

Pinilla, who is not short of self-confidence, admitted there will be lots more to come from him once he gets to grips with the rough-and-tumble nature of Scottish football and he is fully fit.

He said: "I am very pleased with my debut and I am delighted to start with a goal.

"I am pleased for the team that we got such a good victory after the disappointment of the Champions League defeat in midweek.

"I felt very comfortable despite it being my first game with my new team-mates. I still feel I have a long way to go before I am fully 100 per cent on the pitch.

"It was not hard to wait until now to make my debut for Hearts as I realised I had to work physically hard and it did not make any sense after one week's training to go out on to the park and do anything.

"I realised this was the proper moment to make my debut.

"I can't say I enjoyed the physical side of the Scottish game a lot but I expected it to be like that.

"I expected Scottish football to be very tough and very strong but I am happy to be here.

"I felt very well on the park physically but I still think I can do much better and that I can bring a lot of results and goals to the team.

"I want to do that for the rest of the season and not just sit back and relax after scoring my first goal.

"We could have won 6-1 and if I did not score a goal I would still have been very happy because the goal I did score was the work of all the team and not just my own success. I think I played very well and, football wise, my game was in good shape and I am happy with that."

Pinilla looks the real deal and insists he can offer Hearts a variety of options in the striking department that the likes of Jankauskas, Bednar and Pospisil possibly cannot.

Pinilla revealed he is not just a targetman but a penalty-box predator who will score lots of goals and create them for the side too.

That is good news for Hearts but spells bad news for one of the other three attackers at the club.

Pinilla said: "I believe I can do a lot of things very well.

"I finished very well for my goal and I am a goalscorer but I can also create opportunities so that is why I offer something different."

He went off to a rapturous Tynecastle reception with just four minutes left and he admits he was touched by the fans' tribute.

Pinilla said: "That is what attracted me to Scotland and Hearts. I was looking for a place to come and play football and rediscover my appetite and confidence.

"I wanted to enjoy the game again and the decision to come to Hearts was a very good one.

"I am very happy with the reception the Hearts fans gave me when I left the field.

"I am glad I made them enjoy the game as that is a beautiful thing when you make supporters feel like that.

"When you do things properly it is beautiful and I hope I can keep on doing this and sending the Hearts fans home happy every week."

History will show Hearts ran up a convincing win in the end but spare a thought for Caley Thistle who could have got at least a draw and with a bit more composure in front of goal might have won this match.

As it was, Graham Bayne's fine equalising header to cancel out Pinilla's opener after half an hour offered only temporary respite. The impressive Mole crashed home Paul Hartley's expertly-delivered free-kick with his head to restore the Jambos' lead on the stroke of half-time.

The game was dead and buried with 10 minutes left when substitute Andrew Driver smacked home a volley via the underside of the bar after Ross Tokely failed to deal properly with a bread-and-butter cross into the box.

Finally, Portuguese substitute Bruno Aguiar put the seal on the match when he added a fine fourth goal in injury time.

Fellow sub Juho Makela neatly dinked the ball into the path of Mole who headed on to Aguiar for the simple task of steering home a side-foot volley from all of six yards.

It was an undeserved margin of victory but a welcome one for the capital side who saw their Champions League hopes go up in smoke in Athens but who will now try to re-ignite their European dream in the UEFA Cup against Sparta Prague next month.

MAN OF THE MATCH Mauricio Pinilla (Hearts)

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION

55% 45%

SHOTS ON TARGET

9 3

SHOTS OFF TARGET

2 6

CORNERS

2 8

FOULS CONCEDED

12 12

OFFSIDES

0 2

HEARTS

MAN BY MAN

Craig Gordon: Helpless at Bayne goal but competent in everything else that he did. 7

Tiago Costa: Less than impressive debut and was hopelessly out of position at the equaliser. 4

Steven Pressley: Looked uncomfortable at times but rallied his troops well. 7

Christos Karipidis: More at home in the middle of defence but he's still a bit rough around the edges. 6

Lee Wallace: Outstanding performance from a youngster with a great engine. 8

Saulius Mikoliunas: The Lithuanian continues to infuriate Hearts fans. 4

Marius Zaliukas: Terrible debut from a player who must work on his distribution. 4

Paul Hartley: Hearts are a different side when he's in the team and his set pieces cause no end of problems. 7

Neil McCann: Crashed a shot off the bar and set up the first but still got hassle from home fans for his slack passing. 7

Mauricio Pinilla: Pick of the debutants and his goal was a sublime piece of skill. 8

Jamie Mole: Linked well with Pinilla and put in an impressive shift up front. 8

Subs: Andrew Driver - Hit his first goal for the club, 6. Bruno Aguiar - On long enough to claim a goal, 6. Juho Makela - Set up Aguiar's strike, 3.

INVERNESS CT

MAN BY MAN

Mark Brown: Beaten four times but still produced save of the match to deny Mole in first half. 7

Ross Tokely: Uncharacteristic blunder left Caley dead and buried. 4

Darren Dods: Former Hibs man could have dealt better with two crosses which led to Hearts' goals. 5

Grant Munro: Struggled to get to grips with lively Mole. 5

Richard Hastings: Got forward well but quality into the box was poor. 6

Roy McBain: Took up good positions on flanks but delivery was woeful. 6

Ian Black: Pick of the Caley midfield, he probed all day but got little reward. 7

John Rankin: Showed occasional flashes of skill that can light up SPL. 7

Barry Wilson: Was a nuisance for Hearts but missed header at critical stage. 8

Dennis Wyness: Dislocated shoulder after coming within inches of scoring a magnificent goal. 6

Graham Bayne: Scored equaliser but wasted great one-on-one with Gordon. 7

Subs: Rory McAllister - Failed to make an impact, 3. Russell Duncan - Replaced Tokely late on, 3. Liam Keogh - No time to impress, 2.

MOMENT THAT CHANGED THE GAME:

Barry Wilson's miscued header from six yards would have made the score 2-2.

Taken from the Daily Record