Jam Tarts stick together to clinch victory

THE Edinburgh derby must be close to usurping its Glasgow counterpart for unparalleled high tension and drama and, come the conclusion of this one, the puffed-out cheeks of Valdas Ivanauskas gave a sufficient insight into the rumpus which had taken place.

Being head coach at Tynecastle virtually guarantees a rise in heart rate, as Ivanauskas can testify, but watching his side surrender a two-goal advantage to their city rivals would have tested the Lithuanian's patience levels like never before. Thanks must be due, then, to Dean Shiels.

The inexplicable actions of the Northern Irishman had serious consequences for Hibs, his 62nd-minute dismissal handing a numerical advantage to Hearts in the wake of parity being restored at 2-2. But the overall unity and steadfastness shown by the hosts yesterday should not be overlooked simply because of one moment of insanity from Shiels.

Ivanauskas watched his side conduct their derby business in a largely efficient manner, utilising their physical dominance to unsettle the visitors from Leith. The pace-and-power approach, first established in Gorgie by George Burley over a year ago, put Hearts in the ascendancy early in the game. It also set the tone for an afternoon of relentless bedlam.

And, whilst a maroon arm of gratitude should definitely be extended towards Shiels, Zibi Malkowski's contribution to Hearts' victory was equally sizeable. The Hibs goalkeeper conceded what his manager John Collins later termed a "pathetic" second goal and generally turned in a nervous display in the intimidating cauldron that is Tynecastle.

Collins and his players had arrived with their own gameplan which centred around a high tempo and regular interchanging of passes. However, Shiels' sending off for barging Craig Gordon following the midfielder's second-half penalty conversion only supplemented Hibs' determination to self-destruct, as Malkowski had already spilled the ball at Edgaras Jankauskas' feet for Hearts' second goal.

All of the above made for a fraught afternoon in the technical area, for, like most onlookers, Ivanauskas had expected his team to proceed rather more comfortably to victory after securing that 2-0 advantage.

"We went forward with pressure and scored a beautiful [early] goal. That was our tactic for the game, but you can't play pressure football for 90 minutes," said the head coach. "I didn't like this game, there was so much passion. I like more solidity but it was a derby and that is a special game, especially for the supporters. This is a good Christmas present for them.

"The last few minutes were hard but we had a lot of chances and scored three goals, so this is good. We created the chances but we were not so clever after the second goal. I expected more from my players considering Hibs had ten men. I was a bit worried when Hibs came back but we had a lot of character in the team. There was a lot of team spirit and you could see that. Paul Hartley did well and scored the first goal. He was a leader, the same as against Dundee United on Saturday.

"I think playing against Hibs is the game for Paul. But for me it is more important how Paul played for the team and how he worked for the team. Yes, I think things are improving for us but all wins are not easy. Winning brings more pressure for the players because we want more points. I enjoy victory but now we must be ready for the Kilmarnock match."

Ivanauskas conceded it was "not clever" for Shiels to go careering into Gordon following the penalty and opined that the Hibs player fully merited his red card. The visitors had excelled themselves in the second half to equalise goals by Hartley and Jankauskas and managed to effect a more cohesive passing rhythm than Hearts despite the frenetic nature of the game.

It was of little consequence come the end and, although the blame for that can be laid firmly at the doors of Malkowski and Shiels, credit should be given to Hearts for a performance which was brimming with desire and application. That such a powerful display should be witnessed by Eduard Malofeev, attending the match as a VIP guest, is a source of notable irony.

As is the fact that Hearts, widely criticised for their recent treatment of Scottish players, began this game with a total of four natives compared to just three in the Hibs team. A well-balanced home line-up containing seven changes from the weekend victory at Tannadice saw Robbie Neilson again jettisoned completely from the squad but Jankauskas and Roman Bednar were paired in attack for only the fourth time this season. Their compatibility was instantly evident.

Christophe Berra's lofted free-kick was glanced on by Jankauskas to Bednar, who looked suspiciously offside, and the composed Czech squared for Hartley to tap home the opening goal from four yards. It was symptomatic of a frantic beginning, and Hartley was soon engaging in an angry confrontation with Hibs' Michael Stewart because of a late tackle by the visiting midfielder. Both players were cautioned with Stewart continuing to physically impose himself in midfield in the absence of Kevin Thomson.

Chris Killen and Bednar passed up reasonable goalscoring opportunities at opposite ends, but the New Zealander was guilty of serious profligacy in the 23rd minute when he rolled a shot wide of Gordon's goal having eyeballed the Hearts goalkeeper on his own from Abdessalam Benjelloun's through ball.

Hartley's consistency as a regular thorn in Hibs' side since arriving at Tynecastle had already been illustrated by his goal - his eighth as a Hearts player against his former club - but the disdain from the Roseburn Stand yesterday towards the midfielder boiled over in an unsavoury manner when Hartley appeared to be spat upon and had a pie launched in his direction from visiting supporters.

Proceedings were scrappy towards the interval, although the regulars at Tynecastle made their own entertainment by mocking Malkowski. With the second period only three minutes old, the panicky Pole succeeded in compounding his own misery. He spilled a Hartley free-kick which was gobbled up by Jankauskas to give Hearts a 2-0 lead. Malkowski was then subjected to chants of "Oh Zibi, we love you," as Jankauskas celebrated his first goal of the season, taunting which was later supplemented with "Zibi is a Jambo".

Although Hibs were collectively more resolute from then on, Malkowski's confidence would not have been lifted by the sight of Rob Jones and Shelton Martis toiling against Bednar and Jankauskas. In truth, both centre-backs never appeared comfortable dealing with the aerial impact despite their own considerable size.

However, respond Hibs did, and on 54 minutes Killen hauled them back into contention with an emphatic connection on Shiels' corner. Six minutes later, McCurry awarded a penalty that could only be termed soft when Shiels fell under pressure from Nerijus Barasa. Having expertly dispatched the equaliser from the spot Shiels ran to collect the ball and barged into Gordon, throwing his arms out at the keeper as they made contact. No punch was thrown but the Irishman's momentum saw him clatter his opponent to the floor, perhaps mindful that Gordon had refused to give Hibs the ball back after Killen's header had reduced the deficit to 2-1. The upshot was a goalmouth melee involving almost every player on the field before Shiels was rightly ordered off for what will go down as a violent conduct offence. He had attempted to apologise to the grounded Gordon but upon being issued a red card he then struggled under the clutches of a team-mate as he strove angrily to remonstrate with the goalkeeper, who was by then receiving treatment.

It took almost five minutes to restart the match, and soon Hearts were capitalising on their advantage. Bednar fed substitute Andrius Velicka on the left side and his pass along the edge of the Hibs penalty saw all in maroon and green dither except Saulius Mikoliunas. The Lithuanian's ability to frustrate had lurked all afternoon, but he stepped forward confidently to dispatch a beautiful left-footed finish into Malkowski's top left-hand corner.

Hibs weren't prepared to concede the three points yet and Gordon had to tip a goalbound Steven Whittaker strike on to his post to protect his team's lead. Mikoliunas' indecision surfaced again late in the match, leading to a Hearts breakaway being rendered inconsequential. Moving down the right, the winger first failed to spot Velicka unmarked and then ceded possession with a misplaced pass to Hartley.

But Miko's work for the afternoon was done, his moment of glory a long time coming. "I was very happy to score the goal and we had good team spirit," he said. "The performance we showed was good and everybody was working very hard. It was perfect and we deserved to win this game."

Perhaps the exhaling of breath by Ivanauskas at the end was not only relief at the result. The continual selection of his compatriot, Mikoliunas, has been a source of deep consternation amongst Hearts fans all season. Yesterday, it was fully justified on a day of unequalled mayhem.

Taken from the Scotsman