Hearts 1 - 0 Falkirk

The only storm clouds hanging over Tynecastle at present are the ones that keep releasing torrential rain on Gorgie. With the Rangers saga dominating the back and front pages the stormy times at Hearts have been pushed to the background for the time being.

With the two sides meeting at Ibrox on Saturday, it will go a long way to deciding who finishes second in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague behind Celtic. The Tynecastle outfit approach the match in reasonable form, but the one great imponderable that remains is what starting XI they will field.

Every week it's anybody's guess who will be playing and at this stage of the season it is time Hearts had a settled side.

Valdas Ivanauskas, or should that be Vladimir Romanov, is still trying to work out the side's best back four since Steven Pressley's departure. In midfield, Paul Hartley remains vital but they have problems on either flank while up front the strikers change with the weather.

Andrius Velicka did, though, continue to impress up front, although he blotted his copybook badly against Falkirk with a blatant dive that led to the dismissal of Falkirk's Darren Barr in the final minute.

Nowadays it takes little to start a conspiracy theory at Hearts and there were whispers aplenty when Craig Gordon was omitted from the starting line-up against Falkirk. The rumour was a new bid from Fulham had been made for the goalkeeper and club captain and that Arsenal were also closing in.

Such is the state of confusion at Tynecastle both rumours may be true, but what was also not in dispute on Saturday was that Gordon had a groin strain and was not fit to play. He must have been pleased. He missed an average game played in dreadful conditions.

Only Alan Gow of Falkirk showed any composure on the ball. The pitch may have been heavy but he showed why Rangers and a host of other clubs have been tracking him.

He had a superb game and better finishing by his colleagues could have secured Falkirk at least a share of the points. Barr missed a decent chance and Vitor Lima hit the post as John Hughes' side came close time and again.

At the other end, Kasper Schmeichel, watched by his dad Peter, showed that he has inherited plenty of the legendary Manchester United goalkeeper's ability and had a confident 90 minutes, but no chance for the winning goal.

It came after the three Hearts substitutes combined with Ibrahim Tall releasing Andrew Driver who crossed for Roman Bednar to net with a neat low shot.

Then came the controversy as Barr was sent off late on for allegedly headbutting Velicka after the Lithuanian had taken a violent kick at the player. Barr did confront the Hearts player but didn't appear to touch him and the Lithuanian was guilty of an outrageous dive that led to the young Falkirk player being sent off.

Not surprisingly, John Hughes, the Falkirk manager, was apoplectic after the match, accusing Velicka of conning the referee. He had a fair point but as his captain, Jack Ross, said later, if Barr hadn't reacted and stayed down after being fouled by Velicka he wouldn't have put himself in an awkward position in the first place.

It was easy to understand why Falkirk felt a sense of unfairness. They played some great passing football although the expected departure of Gow will be a huge loss, while Russell Latapy continues to defy the years but any more games on pitches as heavy as this, are bound to take their toll.

From a Hearts point of view, the narrow win will have restored belief after their home defeat to Celtic and the players will now be ready for a vitally important encounter with Rangers on Saturday. Having some idea of whether they can expect selection would, though, be a huge help.

Taken from the Herald