Dons cash in on lack of Hartley

WHEN political one-upmanship is continually taking precedence over a football team's best interests like this, it's time for a reality check. Hearts' capability for self-destruction manifested itself again on Saturday as Paul Hartley was omitted from the starting 11, much to the detriment of the side.

The Scotland midfielder attended an internal disciplinary meeting with his club's director of infrastructure, Pedro Lopez, last Thursday, the outcome of which should be revealed this week. Nonetheless, Hartley endured an early measure of correction at the weekend in being left on the substitutes' bench having missed the previous week's victory over Motherwell because of an SFA suspension.

Aberdeen fully exploited his absence to secure a priceless victory as they chase a coveted second-place finish in the SPL. Their previous visit to Tynecastle had seen Hartley make safe that very position for Hearts last season with a winning goal from the penalty spot.

It must be said that there could have been no grounds for complaint over Hartley's exclusion had Julien Brellier been fit. The Frenchman and Bruno Aguiar dominated proceedings against Motherwell, and with Hearts supporters and head coach Valdas Ivanauskas craving stability of team selection Hartley would not have automatically strolled back into the midfield on current form.

However, once it was ascertained that Brellier would not play, the only logical choice would have been to reinstate Hartley beside Aguiar. Instead, Hartley was restricted to a seat on the bench, a decision which baffled virtually everyone inside Tynecastle on Saturday. Clearly, someone still holds a grudge over that Riccarton Three media address.

To compensate for Brellier's absence Marius Zaliukas was shunted into midfield where he never lacked effort but looked cumbersome and uncoordinated in possession. Zaliukas has been virtually faultless when utilised as a centre-back this season, however the Lithuanian has failed to replicate that steadiness when in midfield. The restructuring of the side with Jose Goncalves coming in to partner Ibrahim Tall at centre-back left Hearts looking totally disjointed through the centre.

That point could not have been lost on Lopez despite his limited football knowledge. Gazing out from the directors' box, he saw a team lacking the leadership and inspiration of men like Hartley and Steven Pressley. But ultimately it wasn't Lopez's choice to leave Hartley out. Nor was it likely to have been Ivanauskas who made the final decision despite his insistence to the contrary, for such ego-driven judgement has the name of Vladimir Romanov stamped all over it.

"Are you watching this Lopez?" screamed a number of supporters in Tynecastle's section N as the second half wore on. By that time Hartley had replaced Zaliukas, put the ball in the net but been ruled offside, driven a shot wide from distance, gestured to the crowd to lift the decibel level and executed a majestic reverse pass to Takis Fyssas during a Hearts attack. Put simply, the Scot was playing out of his skin. Perhaps he was trying to make a point.

"Paul started from the bench but he did his job.," said Ivanauskas. "He did very well. It was a tactical decision not to start with him, it's too long to explain. It's my choice. You need to look at the other team as well as your own. Aberdeen have a lot of confidence and we know how they play. It was my opinion to start Paul on the bench. It might be your opinion that Paul should have started the match, but mine is different.

"It was a very important game and every simple mistake costs three points. This time we made those mistakes. We created a lot of chances but if you want to win games you need to score goals, and we didn't. We win as a team and lose as a team."

When asked if he thought Hartley had more to contribute than the players he picked, Ivanauskas replied: "It's possible."

If the Scots are indeed not being phased out at Tynecastle, then the circumstances surrounding Robbie Neilson's exclusion are also, at best, difficult to comprehend. The Scotland full-back was an unused substitute last week against Motherwell but there was no place for him on the bench this time.

Tall and Goncalves endured an unconvincing start as a new central-defensive pairing, although Nerijus Barasa more than compensated as he slid into one bone-crunching tackle after another in the first half.

And it was from a Barasa foul that the visitors first threatened, the ball bouncing around the penalty area before Russell Anderson drove it powerfully towards goal. Aguiar was there to clear it off the line but he inadvertently struck Andrius Velicka in the process and the ball ricocheted up and over via the top of the crossbar.

Jamie Langfield held Aguiar's curving free-kick at the opposite end before the Portuguese player beautifully meandered past both Scott Severin and Chris Clark in midfield to fire a long-range effort wide of the Aberdeen goal. Hearts were clearly increasing the pressure with the interval approaching, and after Jankauskas' header from Aguiar's corner Clark and Langfield were forced to combine to clear the ball off the goal line as the home players screamed for a goal. However the counter-attack was always likely from Aberdeen, and a miscued Barasa header allowed former Tynecastle predator Lee Miller to sprint in behind Tall and Goncalves to loft the ball over Gordon. His effort, though, dropped an inch wide of the goalkeeper's right post.

Tall's and Goncalves' troubles didn't ease in the second half and often simple clearances became complicated issues due to over-dwelling on the ball. Goncalves especially lacked conviction in the centre given his normally assured displays at left-back. The Aberdeen defence was also questionable when exercised by Velicka and Jankauskas and the lack of cohesion and fluidity from both sides became more apparent as the game progressed.

Hartley's 64th-minute introduction was intended to alleviate the tension. It also brought the day's most vociferous cheer, the home support standing to a man as the Scotland midfielder replaced Zaliukas. Within five minutes he had the ball in the net but was penalised for taking Velicka's pass in an offside position.

Hearts did look moderately revitalised by their talisman's presence and a neat turn by Hartley left Clark for dead on the edge of the Aberdeen penalty area, however his low shot crept past Langfield's right post. Jimmy Calderwood's side managed to weather the storm and then delivered their own cutting incision with four minutes remaining.

Jamie Smith charged forward from midfield to square the ball to Severin, Gordon did well to parry what was a vicious shot from his former colleague but substitute Steve Lovell was lurking to slot the ball past the grounded Scotland goalkeeper. Hearts fans howled for an offside flag against Lovell, but the standside assistant referee Chris Young did not oblige. It was a massive goal for Calderwood's side, who continue to harbour ambitions of Champions League qualification.

"It wasn't an easy ball for Craig and I'm not disappointed in him," commented Ivanauskas on the goal. "We need hard work from our defence and that was not so good, although it was not all down to the central defence. I think Tall and Goncalves tried to do their jobs but it is not my style to speak about how each individual player played."

Needing a goal to rescue a point, Ivanauskas then proceeded with the bizarre replacement of Goncalves with Christophe Berra. Hartley was still burrowing as best he could between midfield and attack, but his efforts were in vain come full-time. The next issue of intrigue will be to see what Lopez and Romanov have planned for him later in the week.

Taken from the Scotsman