Hearts 4 Inverness CT 1

After last Saturday's defeat at Ibrox it was all doom and gloom. We aren't good enough any more, Romanov has sold us short and not kept his promises, our backup players aren't good enough, etc, etc.

Then there was Athens on Wednesday, where the anger and sense of injustice felt at the refereeing quickly paled into the background against one challenge made by Neil McCann that made him the scapegoat for every bad result we've ever had, or so it seemed.

As a result of those events, I trudged quietly into Tynecastle yesterday fearing the worst. Having sustained several more injuries to add to our already large list of absentees, Hearts would have another threadbare side out there and another result similar to the Falkirk one was distinctly possible I felt. I was also dreading the fans' reaction to certain players, Neil McCann in particular. They don't tend to be very forgiving down Tynecastle way and memories can be extremely short and selective.

Well, by 4.50pm I felt completely refreshed after watching a terrific end-to-end match full of youthful exuberance and no little skill. Considering this was a home match against an Inverness side backed by what looked like no more than a hundred fans, if that, the atmosphere was surprisingly positive from the word go and that really helped to lift the players.

Hearts lined up with a side almost completely unrecognisable from the one that played in Athens and indeed last week at Ibrox. Only Steven Pressley survived from the back four and he was joined by Lee Wallace, Hristos Karipidis and Tiago Costa, who made his debut at right-back in place of the suspended Neilson. Marius Zaliukas also made his debut in the holding midfield role at the expense of the absent Brellier and alongside young Jamie Mole up front we had another debutant in the Chilean Mauricio Pinilla, our summer loan signing from Sporting Lisbon.

As I had been with Falkirk recently, I was surprisingly pleased to see Inverness playing with a very open and attacking formation and this made for a cracking game right from the start.

Neil McCann had to start this game well to prevent a slaughtering from the crowd I felt and thankfully he did. Finding space down the left on three occasions, McCann delivered some quality crosses into the box. The second of those crosses was met by a fine header from Mole that looked in all the way until 'keeper Brown's hand came from nowhere to touch it round the post. A great move foiled by fantastic goalkeeping. However from the third of those McCann crosses, Hearts took the lead when Pinilla volleyed powerfully into the net, although his shot was quite close to Brown and he might have done better. Great to see Pinilla scoring so early in his Hearts career - he looked a confident guy anyone but getting that first goal is all-important for a striker.

Hearts were looking dangerous going forward, with Hartley's runs in behind the defence creating space for others, the wide men in particular.

However Caley were playing some nice football, particularly down the right and this is where they got their equaliser from after half an hour. A fine move saw Wilson breaking clear in behind Wallace and his cross was perfect for Bayne to rise above Costa and power his header behind Gordon. It was a great goal although I was unhappy a the ease in which Costa was knocked out of the way.

Caley finished the first half playing the better football and Wyness nearly scored after another excellent move.

But it was Hearts who got to the break ahead after they made it 2-1 in the simplest of fashions. A free-kick from Hartley on the right touchline found Jamie Mole completely unmarked at the back post and his headed powerfully past Brown, who could only help it on its way into the roof of the net. Similarly to Pinilla it was great to see Mole getting off the mark early and being such a young lad, this will help him enormously. Richly deserved too.

The second half continued in the much the same vein, although despite enjoying the bulk of the possession, there was a nervousness about Hearts' play. I feel this was largely to do with the less-than-assured looking defence, but to be fair it was always likely to be this way with so many unfamiliar faces in there playing together for the first time.

McCann, who had one of those games when he did some nice things but often undid some of his own good work, came close to a spectacular goal when he smashed a left foot volley first time that came back off the bar. This sums up his luck at the moment!

That was to be McCann's last notable contribution to the game before making way for young Andrew Driver and what an introduction he made! His first touch of the ball was truly sublime: a little dip of the shoulder saw him send a Caley defender completely the wrong way at the corner flag in a move that would have made the great Jimmy Johnstone proud! Then just a few minutes later after sustained Hearts pressure, the ball dropped to him in a similar position to where McCann hit the bar, but this time the youngster's volley nestled in the net to send Tynecastle into raptures. It was a fantastic goal from an exciting-looking young player.

Bruno Aguiar then put the icing on the cake at the death when he knocked Mole's assist beyond Brown from around eight yards.

4-1 was very rough justice on the visitors. Although Hearts played some nice stuff going forward, they always looked vulnerable at the back and had Caley taken some of their chances, especially at 2-1, this game could have ended up going their way. However Hearts did deserve to win in the end and it was just the sort of morale-boosting win that everyone needed.

As for Andrew Driver, I really hope people don't get too carried away and get unrealistic expectations about him. Yes he looked excellent but he's a very young lad who will probably find it tough going against the better sides. Most fans will probably be saying things like 'McCann's rubbish and that Driver's far better - he should play every week' but in my opinion that's nonsense. By all means play him in the next game but the management team have to be sensible about the way he's gradually introduced, especially as he's a winger.

Still, some very encouraging signs out there yesterday...

Star Player
Several players had good games, but I'm perhaps controversially giving this to Saulius Mikoliunas who was at the heart of most of the good football Hearts played. He really seems to be digging in now after being heavily criticised for his workrate lately - well done Miko!
Player Ratings
Gordon 6
Some might say the goal should have been his ball, but I think it was just an excellent cross. Otherwise Gordon was solid, making the saves he needed to and commanding at crosses.
Costa 6
Lacks the physical presence of Neilson and this showed when he was too easily beaten for the goal. However he looks a good footballer and he linked well with the midfield when going forward.
Wallace 6
Loves to get forward and he's deceptively skilful. However this sometimes means he's caught out of position and this did happen a few times. Overall played well though.
Pressley 7
The guy can't be fit but probably felt he had to play yesterday to try and knit an unfamiliar defence together. To be fair he did this pretty well considering.
Karipidis 5
Looks a composed enough player but I felt he was turned too easily and his positional sense could have been better.
Zaliukas 6
Definitely not in Brellier's class but did a solid enough job. Tries nothing fancy and kept play moving on most of the time pretty well.
Mikoliunas 8
Had some great runs down the right and put in some dangerous crosses. Tracked back well to help out new man Costa. These sort of games are the ones he seems most suited to.
Hartley 7
Great to see him back and his influence just seemed to make the team play better. The ball was kept on the ground a lot more and he was key to most things that Hearts did well.
McCann 6
Started very brightly and put over some great early crosses. Tended to undo some of his own good work at times but very unlucky not to score with great volley.
Mole 8
Some great movement up front and linked well with Pinilla and the midfield. Took his goal well and unlucky with another header that was well saved.
Pinilla 7
Looks a good player with plenty of confidence. Took goal pretty well and showed some good touches and has great spring in the air. Missed an early sitter though!
Driver 7
Only on for last 15 minutes but made a huge impact, the crowning glory being the crucial third goal: a cracking volley from a tight angle.
Driver 7
Only on for last 15 minutes but made a huge impact, the crowning glory being the crucial third goal: a cracking volley from a tight angle.
Aguiar 5
Only got ten minutes but stroked some nice passes around and scored fourth goal.
Makela 1
Not on long enough to make an impact.