Where art thou Romanov? He's here, he's there, he's everywhere to personally welcome Tartan Army to town

LITHUANIA is where the fictional psychopath Hannibal Lecter was born, but the surprising absence of a grisly ending last night gave Scotland cheer in what previously has been considered a heart of darkness. Somewhere near Vilnius, the nation's capital, apparently exists the precise geographical centre of Europe. Yet yesterday a land that has become less of a mystery to Scots over the last eight years finally delivered some enchantment.

Whether or not you follow a certain team in west Edinburgh, this win was unavoidably coloured by Lithuania's current heavy presence in Scotland. Somehow a feeling of inferiority has been the result of Vladimir Romanov's re-shaping of Hearts. Lithuanians have been shipped in, often at the expense of young Scots. A win for Lithuania last night might have vindicated Romanov, made an already bruised nation feel a little more temporary about herself.

Instead it was Romanov who ate a rather large portion of humble pie after the glasses of Chianti he very publicly shared with members of the Tartan Army yesterday. His claims of Lithuanian superiority proved as fanciful as those World Cup players who are meant to have signed at Tynecastle in the last transfer window. Lithuania's holding of Italy at the weekend supplied this win with a significance above simply the fact it included Scotland's first ever goal in this previously cursed land. Christian Dailly provided it, planting a header into the net the way it should have been at Wembley in 1999.

Not unexpectedly, where art thou Romanov? was not a question deemed necessary in the build-up to Scotland's third visit to Lithuania since 1998. On the last two occasions that Scotland played in the Baltic country Hearts had yet to be annexed by Lithuania. Things were simpler then. Managers in Gorgie could sleep relatively soundly in their beds, and sports writers and other perceived dilettantes had yet to be invited down a Vlad-imagined road to Hell.

The Tartan Army were also able to go about their missionary work, where millionaires are made out of bar owners, without fear of being harassed by major shareholders of a Scottish football club eager to maintain his record of never knowingly allowing himself to drift out of the public eye. Romanov was at it again yesterday, patrolling the streets of his adopted hometown of Kaunas, as unflinching as a hero in a book. The merest flurry of tartan attracted him, along with, conveniently, a photographer.

Accumulating knowledge of his adopted homeland has been unavoidable since Romanov muscled his way into Scottish life, although even before his arrival Scotland had struck up a mostly unprofitable relationship with the country. A controversial penalty condemned Scotland to defeat in April 2003, while a 0-0 draw in 1998 did not help Scotland's attempts at automatic qualification for Euro 2000.

But a further intensity was present in the run-up to last night's encounter, often encouraged by Romanov's own desperate desire to be part of the story. His profile in Scotland is such that the meeting assumed a faux derby status, while brick brats, mostly inspired by the state of the Kaunas pitch, were flung back and forth across northern Europe. You can imagine Romanov bristling, since he himself has a keen eye for pitch upkeep. He made a show of pacing out the dimensions ahead of a Champions League qualifier when Hearts played in Herzegovina last month, while part of the allure of Murrayfield is the bowling green quality of the field. Here he was embarrassed by the rutted park, although apparently it was Scotland's fault that the goalmouths required great heaps of sand applied to them.

The SFA's ticket demands had made it impossible to stage the match at the better preserved stadium in Vilnius. However, you wonder whether Romanov had agitated for the match to be brought to his base of Kaunas, so pronounced was his presence in the streets of the town yesterday afternoon. Clearly mistaking himself for Rod Stewart, he ragged with the Scotland fans and shared numerous drinks.

Welcome to the Republic of Romanov, he might have said in greeting. Everywhere he looked he could be reminded of his influence. Ukio Bankas adverts skirted the pitch, while three Hearts players in the Scotland first XI, although surprisingly in this Romanov dominated corner of the world, only one - Saulius Mikoliunas - made the home line-up. Ultimately, Romanov was sent home to think again. At least the journey can't have been a long one.

Taken from the Scotsman