Hartley lights up Rugby Park

IF EVERY stalemate featured 50 to 60 minutes of football as good as we saw at Rugby Park yesterday, there would be few complaints from the purists. A goal was all that was missing from a tasty pie which only sagged in the middle of the first half.

Both sides showed changes from their Boxing Day line-ups. Virus-hit Kilmarnock had an unfamiliar look up front, with midfielder Peter Leven joining Gary Wales, while Simon Ford returned to the defence in place of Frazer Wright. The Tynecastle merry-go-round continued with the visitors showing six changes from the side which won the Edinburgh derby.
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A very lively start promised much. Both sides won corners in the opening three minutes but failed to capitalise on them, and with Hearts looking marginally more dangerous, it was no surprise when they almost took the lead after just seven minutes. What a bizarre effort it was, Paul Hartley's right-footed curling free kick from out on the left sailing unobstructed through the crowded penalty area to rebound off the left-hand upright with goalkeeper Graeme Smith well beaten. The ball was scrambled clear, much to the relief of an embarrassed Kilmarnock defence.

They were not as red-faced as Saulius Mikoliunas who went crashing down outside the penalty box and rose expecting a free kick only to see referee Dougie McDonald signalling a dive on his part, though mysteriously there was no yellow card for the Hearts man.

An even more crimson face among the men in maroon belonged to Bruno Aguiar who thrashed a 25-yard free kick high into the Moffat Stand behind Smith's goal. It's probably just as well that, as he ran away, the Portuguese midfielder did not see Paul Hartley's disgusted head shake behind him.

Hartley sometimes gives the impression with his body language that he would rather not be alongside some of his fellows, but no one can doubt his commitment. For the rest of the afternoon he was the most influential player in maroon, tackling back one minute and probing forward the next, trying to drive Hearts into a winning position.

That the match went into a long lull from the tenth minute onwards was not the fault of either Hartley or Steven Naismith, who was performing a similar role for Kilmarnock. Both defences tightened up and Grant Murray in particular performed heroics for the home side.

In the 21st minute, Naismith came deep to rob Mikoliunas, before sending Wales away, the striker's 25-yard shot pinging narrowly past Craig Gordon's left post. Wales then turned provider, his sharp low cross from the left finding Leven in front of goal, but he proved why he's better in midfield by touching the ball wide.

With too many passes going astray, it was patchy stuff for much of the rest of the half, a poor long-range shot from Andrius Velicka summing up the play. The 10 minutes either side of half-time brought the match to life, however. Wales was first to have a go, his powerful header from Danny Invincibile's cross sailing just wide, before play raced to the other end where Mikoliunas did well to retrieve a deep cross and hook it back to the in-rushing Velicka, Ford's last-ditch lunge diverting the ball over for a corner. It was Ford who again came to his side's rescue in injury time, clearing Velicka's header from a long Hartley cross.

Hearts could have been three up after just five minutes of a vastly better second half. Mikoliuanas should have done better with his tame effort at the back post off a Driver cross, the Englishman then starting a superb move which featured a neat 1-2 between Hartley and Takis Fyssas, the Greek international's shot flashing across Smith's goal and wide of the far post.

When Mikoliunas' 50th minute shot was deflected by Gordon Greer, it looked as though it might not be Hearts' day, and five minutes later, Naismith almost confirmed that view when he ran clean through on Gordon only to hit the bar, Scotland's No.1 goalkeeper somehow keeping the ball out in the resultant goalmouth scramble.

It was soon end-to-end stuff with the visitors in the ascendancy at first as Kilmarnock seemed unable to retain possession for long. Naismith still posed a serious threat to Hearts, however, as Robbie Neilson proved by hauling him down and getting himself a yellow card in 73 minutes.

Hartley tried everything he knew to prompt Hearts. His 76th minute cross was headed on by Mikoliunas to substitute Roman Bednar, on for the ineffective Michael Pospisil, and the Czech's shot looked goal-bound until Smith dived to his left for the save of the match.

The Czech striker should have scored two minutes later when Hartley sent him clear through the middle, but Bednar could only shoot high over Smith and the bar.

Late in what had become a thoroughly entertaining half, Kilmarnock almost snatched the points. A brilliantly incisive pass by Johnston sent Wales clear on the left, but as looked poised to score, Gordon spread himself flat and forced the Kilmarnock striker to shoot wide.

In truth, for their efforts alone, neither side deserved to lose.


Taken from the Scotsman