Roman strike force

The Hearts striker is relishing the clash with old friends now he is a permanent member of the Tynecastle staff. Alan Campbell reports

FINDING a potent striking combination has proved difficult for Hearts since Vladimir Romanov assumed ownership of the club, but if Roman Bednar and Mauricio Pinilla can form a quick understanding, a solution may finally have arrived ahead of Thursday night’s Uefa Cup tie against Sparta Prague at Murrayfield.

With Edgaras Jankauskas expected to be out injured for the next month, Bednar and Pinilla are surely the best combination from the stack of strikers which Hearts have accumulated. The latter made a highly promising home debut against Inverness Caledonian Thistle a fortnight ago, and could be the perfect foil for Bednar.

The Chilean is good in the air, reasonably quick and looks to have an eye for goal. He combined well with Jamie Mole in the Caley match, but is likely to benefit even more from playing off Bednar, who last month signed a four-year deal with Hearts which makes his loan from FK Kaunas permanent.

Whether that is the partnership chosen on Thursday is anybody’s guess given the eccentricity of recent team selections, but the emergence of Pinilla along with Paul Hartley’s successful return from a groin injury should give Hearts optimism that they can overcome the Czechs and reach the group stages.

For Bednar, Thursday will be a nostalgic occasion. “I’ve supported Sparta Prague all my life, so it will be something special for me,” he said. “I went to my first game aged six or seven with my father.”

Highly regarded by previous Hearts manager George Burley, Bednar, sent off yesterday against St Mirren, was settling well into the Tynecastle side before his first season was disrupted by an injury which kept him out of the side for three months. The only concern about the 23-year-old, who has graduated to the full Czech squad, is that he may be injury-prone, but after his recent set-back against Rangers last month he is back to full fitness.

The injuries have doubtless contributed to an inconsistency in his level of performance, but surprisingly for a player who has made such a positive impact overall he also admits to having been unsure of his worth when he arrived in Scotland.

“I was young then, and had played professional only two years in the second league in the Czech Republic and one in the top league,” he pointed out. “I had very little experience.

“I am more professsional now, so I feel I am a much better player. I was inconsistent before, but I now feel I’m playing at a good level all the time .”

Bednar is looking forward to playing against his friend, the Sparta Prague defender Michal Kadlec, who Celtic unsuccessfully tried to sign for £1.5m in the last transfer window, over the two Uefa Cup legs.

“I spoke to Kadlec straight after the draw,” he said. “I told him I would score against him and he said: ‘No way – I will kill you first.’” So far the defender hasn’t had to resort to violence, with Bednar having failed to score in two previous games against his Czech colleague.

There was some speculation, before Bednar joined Hearts via Kaunas, that he could become a team-mate of Kadlec’s. “There was some talk about signing for Sparta, but I don’t think it was anything serious,” the striker said. “I made the right decision joining Hearts.

“Now that I’ve signed a four-year contract nothing has changed. Before I had a contract with Kaunas, where I’ve never been. [Now] my heart is with Hearts.”

Sparta’s home game against Tescoma Zlin was watched yesterday by Hearts assistant coach John McGlynn, whose report will be added to that compiled by manager Valdas Ivanauskas a fortnight ago. There has been upheaval in Prague with the manager, Stanislav Griga, having been sacked since Ivanauskas’s visit and replaced by former player Michal Bilek.

As far as Ivanauskas is concerned that is only likely to improve a side which has been struggling in the Czech league, but which he describes as strong and well organised.

“They are a good experienced team which every season plays in the Champions League or Uefa Cup so it won’t be easy,” he said. “For Hearts it’s also important to compete every year in Europe because of the experience it gives everybody at the club.”

Not least of the lessons learned in the two-legged defeat by AEK Athens in the Champions League final qualifying round last month was the need to avoid red cards. Hearts undid themselves against the Greeks by accumulating three – with Bruno Aguiar, Julien Brellier and Neil McCann all being sent off.

Perhaps the most surprising consequence of this discliplinary carnage has been Ivanauskas’s realisation that referees in this country are, in fact, not that bad.

“I don’t have anything against referees in Scotland,” he said. “They do very, very well. But in Scotland the game is very hard. In Europe the referees don’t understand this. Julien maybe should have been disciplined in Athens, but in Scotland Neil McCann wouldn’t even have got a yellow.”

A questionable contention, but at least Bednar and Pinilla could provide answers to a different Hearts problem.

Taken from the Sunday Herald