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| <-Page | <-Team | Mon 13 Nov 2006 Falkirk 1 Hearts 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Eduard Malofeev | <-auth | Mark Wilson | auth-> | Mike McCurry |
| [R Latapy 84] | ||||
| 6 | of 008 | Andrius Velicka 65 | L SPL | A |
Falkirk 1 - 1 HeartsMARK WILSON at Falkirk Stadium November 14 2006 He can banish their captain, demote their best midfielder and change coach with the pages of his calendar. What Vladimir Romanov cannot do is make Hearts win. Russell Latapy's sweetly-struck goal five minutes from time earned Falkirk a draw they deserved on another night when football took second place to the internal politics at the Tynecastle club. This was Hearts' sixth match without victory, a dismal run which stretches back to a 4-0 rout of Dundee United on October 1, and it places further doubt over their ability to maintain sufficient stability to succeed this season. They may have risen to third place in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague but there was little to dispel the unease felt last night by supporters of the Tynecastle club. The non-appearance of Steven Pressley, who has apparently been stripped of the club captaincy, dominated their conversation, with Paul Hartley and Robbie Neilson also dropped to the bench as Romanov flexed his muscles. Of the three players who fronted last month's expression of concern at the way the club was being run, only Craig Gordon survived in the starting line-up. The Scotland goalkeeper performed his standard level of heroics to deny one fabulous Latapy strike, but was helpless as the Trinidadian swept home Allan Gow's pass at the end of a fluent Falkirk move. It all proved too much for Eduard Malofeev, Hearts interim head coach, who was sent to the stand after an altercation with the fourth official, John McKendrick. It may be the last action of Malofeev in the position as he is widely expected to be replaced by Eugenijus Riabovus in the near future. Hearts did not seem deterred initially by the radical surgery inflicted upon their line-up and Jeroen Lambers, Falkirk's Dutch goalkeeper, twice saved bravely from Andrius Velicka in the opening exchanges. Roy Keane, the Sunderland manager, again travelled north of the border to cast his eye over Anthony Stokes having been impressed by his performance at Parkhead last Tuesday. The young Dubliner had an unsuccessful trial on Wearside before Keane's arrival at the club and the former Celtic player is clearly keen for Sunderland to have a second opportunity at his signature. One bouncing shot into the arms of Gordon was the limit of Stokes' early involvement. He should, though, have shone further for Keane 10 minutes before the interval. Gow slickly engineered space on the left and crossed deep for Stokes, who stood unmarked on the fringes of the six-yard area. He made solid contact with his header, but it was directed too close to Gordon who grasped the ball gratefully. Gow has yet to score this season, despite some fluid and creative performances, but he is getting closer. One run saw him elude two back-tracking Hearts defenders before he shifted the ball on to his left foot and bulleted a drive fractionally over the bar from 25 yards out. There had been a restrictive tension running through much of the play, with neither side able to establish proper patterns of possession to build consistent pressure. Latapy remains a vital fulcrum to Falkirk's admirable commitment to passing football and he impudently burst into proceedings eight minutes after the restart. A trip on his rapidly shuffling legs won a free-kick within striking range and Latapy's shot zipped through a feeble Hearts defensive wall but was blocked expertly by Gordon. Sadly for Falkirk, Lambers did not share that solidity as Hearts sprang forward on 65 minutes. A challenge by Liam Craig, who had replaced Stephen O'Donnell, succeeded only into squirting the ball to Bruno Aguiar, who passed wide for Velicka. The striker was sporting a bandaged head after his first-half collision with Lambers, but left the goalkeeper clutching his temples in anguish as his speculative angled drive from 20 yards sped through a gap at the near post. It was a calamitous error and one almost matched shortly afterwards by Mark Twaddle. The substitute stumbled over the ball to gift Jamie Mole a free shot, but Lambers blocked well before Twaddle scrambled the danger clear. Latapy's equaliser set up a grandstand finale, with Hristos Karipidis missing a golden chance before he blocked Gow's close range attempt. Falkirk: Lambers; Ross (Dodd 16), Barr, Milne, Scobbie (Twaddle 64); Thomson, Latapy, Cregg, O'Donnell (Craig 64); Gow, Stokes. Subs Higgins, Stewart, Lima, McManus. Hearts: Gordon; Karipidis, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace; Barasa, Brellier (Hartley 90), Aguiar, Mikoliunas; Mole (Makela 75), Velicka. Subs MacDonald, Neilson, Pospisil, Ivaskeicius, Jonsson. Referee: Michael McCurry.  Taken from the Herald |
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| <-Page | <-Team | Mon 13 Nov 2006 Falkirk 1 Hearts 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
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