Malofeev's long-ball approach comes up short as Dunfermline earn deserved draw

WHO knew that Charles Reep, the late RAF wing commander who documented the effectiveness of the long-ball game in the 1950s through statistical analysis, was such a big influence on the thinking of Soviet coaches?

It was Reep, a student of the Arsenal team of the 1930s, who first formalised the so-called three pass optimisation rule: 1: long ball; 2: knock-down and pass; 3: shot from inside the box. This blunt style of football also once famously characterised the direct tactics of Watford, Wimbledon and Graham Taylor's England.

On Saturday, it was how Eduard Malofeev, the former national coach with the USSR and Belarus currently in temporary charge of Hearts, instructed his players to approach the game against Dunfermline. In defeat against Kilmarnock the week before, Hearts had again relied on long, high, hopeful balls without much success in what was Valdas Ivanauskas' last match as head coach before taking sick leave. The one dimensional style employed against Dunfermline was, if anything, an even cruder exposition of route one tactics.

While it was certainly bold of Malofeev to switch to a 3-4-3 formation, the tactical alteration failed to address the continuing shortage of enough regular midfielders in the starting line-up. Against Dunfermline, the weakness was exacerbated by the presence in midfield of two full-backs (Robbie Neilson and Lee Wallace) and a centre-half (Ibrahim Tall) alongside Paul Hartley.

By the end of the game, after Malofeev had brought on both Julien Brellier (to the loudest cheer of the afternoon) and Bruno Aguiar, Hearts at last began to make some sense of the direct approach. But for long spells earlier in the game they struggled to create space and only troubled goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie occasionally.

Of course, the long pass can be an effective weapon - Hartley's long diagonal pass for Andrius Velicka's equaliser against Hibs a couple of weeks ago was a good example of direct football - but not when punts from defenders to big centre-forwards playing with their backs to goal is the only show in town. Andy Tod and his colleagues in the Dunfermline defence certainly found it far easier to cope with the aerial bombardment launched by Hearts than they did with Hibs' slick passing which cost them four goals on home turf last Monday evening.

"There are different tastes and different opinions," said Malofeev when asked if he felt the long ball worked. "But sometimes it takes quite a long time to get to know each other. If we are going to do high and long passes then it will be with the aim to score more goals. My opinion is it is better to win with a score of 10-9 than 1-0."

For once this season, it was how Hearts played, rather than who was selected, which had the greater bearing on the outcome of the game. This was remarkable, given that few team sheets at Tynecastle in recent years have been as eagerly awaited as this one. In the end, Steven Pressley, Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon, who issued the statement revealing dressing-room discontent on Friday, all played and made useful contributions. Gordon, who had been suffering from 'flu, made a typically acrobatic leap in the opening minutes to pull off an outstanding save from Stephen Simmons, the former Tynecastle midfielder.

Pressley and Hartley were also instrumental in setting up the goal for Velicka, the one occasion when a long ball paid off. Pressley's punt bounced awkwardly in the box for both Hartley and McKenzie. While the goalkeeper struggled to recover, Hartley delivered a clever back-heel flick across the six-yard box which Velicka bundled into the net.

Pressley, who spent as much time in Dunfermline's half as his own, might then have won the game after playing a smart one-two with Velicka. But his low shot was driven wide and Hearts wouldn't create another similarly clear-cut opening until the dying seconds of the game when Neilson's shot was brilliantly headed off the line by Tod.

In the meantime, Dunfermline scored a controversial equaliser three minutes after the interval when Owen Morrison's corner was headed goalwards by Simmons and Jim Hamilton, who came off the bench for Hearts in the 1998 Scottish Cup final, appeared to use his arm to divert the ball over the line. "It hit me, it went in and I'm taking the goal," said the striker.

Dunfermline might have taken all three points had Mark Burchill not missed the target with a left-foot shot from 12 yards. It was easy to forget Dunfermline also lost a manager last week and endured a torrid spell of their own. Under the temporary charge of coach Craig Robertson - who has been assured of a future under a new manager - the Fifers played with enough dogged enthusiasm to creep a point clear of Dundee United at the foot of the SPL.
Foulkes: 'Romanov trying to run club like a Soviet submarine'

FORMER Hearts chairman George Foulkes claims that majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov "thinks he can run a football club like you run a soviet submarine".

After another turbulent few days at Tynecastle, Foulkes believes the squad and the fans have good reason to be concerned at the continued unrest caused by Romanov, who used to be a submariner. "Romanov has been flexing his muscles rather more than is sensible," he said.

"When Romanov became the majority shareholder, he thought he knew best and over the last year he has been interfering more and more.

"He has certainly put a lot of money in and shown a lot of interest. But he has not shown a lot of sense or statesmanship.

Romanov is a bit like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The people around him are all yes men. That is the difficulty. He used to be a submarine commander. He thinks he can run a football club as a soviet submarine.

"I hear he is taking a vow of silence for a month. I will believe it when I see it but that would certainly be helpful."

Taken from the Scotsman