Hearts stay cool as Shiels loses head

THE Edinburgh derby lived up to its recent reputation for entertainment and excitement yesterday, when its latest instalment at Tynecastle produced five goals, six bookings, a penalty - and a red card for the man who scored from that penalty before the match restarted. In other words, it was a typically frenzied affair, although there is surely a lesson in the fact that Hearts ended up 3-2 winners thanks largely to their ability to stay calmer than their opponents when it mattered most.

Hibernian fell behind to a Paul Hartley goal just a couple of minutes into the match, and then went two down a few minutes into the second half when Zibi Malkowski's latest goalkeeping blunder allowed Edgaras Jankauskas a tap-in. John Collins' side then fought back to level through a Chris Killen header and a Dean Shiels penalty, but Shiels was dismissed after scoring following a controversial collision with the Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Hearts were then able to make their advantage count, bringing on two fresh strikers to harry the Hibs defence, and the winner came from a firmly placed strike from Saulius Mikoliunas.

Hibs had their chances to equalise, notably when a shot from Steven Whittaker came off both posts, and they might also have scored through Abdessalam Benjelloun in the first minute and Chris Killen towards half-time. Victory for the home side, however, means that Hearts remain in fourth place, still four points behind Aberdeen, who beat Kilmarnock 3-1, but now four clear of their Edinburgh rivals.

John Collins, the Hibs manager, sought consolation in the passing play his team produced. His main concern after the match, however, was to cast doubt on the validity of the red card shown to Shiels by referee Mike McCurry.

"The linesman told me my player punched the goalkeeper," Collins said. "There was no punch. He's run into him - he's trying to get the ball. Nine and a half stone running into 13 stone - I'm sure Craig Gordon will be in hospital.

"Anybody that's played football at the top level will tell you, when you score a penalty the first thing you want to do is try and get the ball and get the game kicked off again.

"He went to try and get the ball, the goalkeeper stepped slightly to his right and they collided. There is no punch."

Shiels followed the same tack when asked to give his version of the incident. "The official accused me of punching Craig Gordon, and I totally deny that," he said. "I was running to get the ball."

The statements by Collins and Shiels avoided the main point of the incident. An official may have said there was a punch, and if so looked wrong to have done so. But repeated replays showed Shiels making contact with Gordon either with a forearm or a hand, and also displayed the aggressive manner in which he did so. Gordon's weight - which Collins in a later answer increased to 14 stone - is irrelevant to the offence committed. The implication was that Gordon made a meal of it, yet that was also irrelevant. It was what Shiels did that made the referee take action.

However, Gordon was not an entirely innocent party. After Hibs' first goal, the Hearts goalkeeper angered opposition players by holding on to the ball and refusing to give it up as Hibs sought a quick re-start to the match.

Collins accepted that the sending-off had cost his team the game. "Without a doubt," the manager continued. "At 2-2 the momentum's swinging in our favour. The way we played in the second half when we still had 11 men I thought there was only one team that was going to go on and win the match. There was only one team trying to play football." In at least two aspects of the sport, however, one team - Hearts - was clearly more proficient. One was finishing, as the scoreline shows, and the other was goalkeeping. Malkowski has had a hapless time of itagainst Hearts, and a few other clubs, this year.

When the transfer window opens at the weekend, Collins will surely have a good scout around for available goalkeepers.

"Very soft goals, shockingly soft goals that cost us dear," Collins said of Hearts' first two. "Pathetic" was the adjective he used for the second.

Taken from the Scotsman