Velicka theatrics put dampener on determined show from Hearts

AT THEIR most effective on the counter-attack but second best for long stretches of this match in midfield against Falkirk, Hearts compensated for a couple of persistent shortcomings in the make-up of the current side by producing a sleeves-up performance strong on effort and determination.

This was a game which during Eduard Malofeev's ill-fated spell in charge of the first team Hearts would surely have lost. Lacking balance in the middle of the park, where they missed a ball winner, Hearts struggled to impress in possession. Any incisive play tended to stem from the individual prompting of Paul Hartley or Neil McCann rather than spells of coherent passing.

In these circumstances, it took a flurry of second-half substitutions from head coach Valdas Ivanauskas and a thrillingly tireless contribution from McCann in terms of tackling, checking back and blocking runs which enabled the home side to collect all three points on a day when they could easily have been left empty-handed. Christophe Berra was also impressively resolute.

As ever, Hearts' starting line-up contained elements so baffling to the outsider it would be easier to explain the four laws of black hole mechanics proposed by Professor Stephen Hawking. Although the absence of Craig Gordon was innocent enough - the goalkeeper had a groin injury - the inclusion of Jamie Mole, who hadn't played up front since mid-November and was supposed to be going out on loan, was mystifying.

It also made little sense to include Christos Karipidis at right-back when Falkirk play a 5-3-1-1 system which meant the Hearts defender was invariably the player left in possession during the first-half.

It's safe to say that passing is not Karipidis' strong point. Although Ibrahim Tall was culpable at Celtic's second goal the previous weekend, his speed and footballing ability would have been far more useful assets for all of this match.

The same could also have been said about Roman Bednar and Andrew Driver, two of Hearts' better players against the champions. At any rate, the arrival of Tall, Driver and Bednar in the second half was better late than never and the three substitutes combined superbly to produce the winning goal.

Tall, who came on for the out of sorts Marius Zaliukas, started the move with a terrific ball-winning tackle in front of his own penalty box. Striding forward at pace, he slipped a pass to McCann, who returned the favour. By now covering the ground in Falkirk's half, Tall moved the ball out to Driver on the right flank, where he'd replaced Saulius Mikoliunas. The teenager is naturally left-footed but his clipped right-foot cross into the six-yard box was beautifully executed. Bednar's instant finish at the near post was clinical and, after a season bedeviled by injury, offered further evidence of a return to form and fitness.

Having twice previously struck wood - Mikoliunas thrashed a shot against the bar after exhilarating work from Hartley and Andrius Velicka saw a close range effort deflect off a Falkirk defender onto a post - Hearts breathed a huge sigh of relief when Falkirk were also denied by the upright.

Moving the ball with more subtlety than a Hearts outfit reluctant to string passes together, Falkirk must have thought they'd scored when Thomas Scobbie's cross from the left was met by a telling header from Vitor Lima which escaped the outstretched hand of Steve Banks only to thud against the inside of the post and spin back into play. Banks, incidentally, had a fine game and looks set to be offered a new contract.

Thereafter, having played the tidier football in appallingly wet and windy conditions, Falkirk were left to feel hard done by when a blatant piece of gamesmanship from Andrius Velicka engineered the sending-off of Darren Barr.

Having been on the receiving end of Velicka's wild swipe, Barr reacted angrily and confronted the Hearts player. Had Velicka stayed on his feet, it's likely both players would have received yellow cards from referee Steve Conroy. TV evidence made it clear there was no contact when Barr approached Velicka. The striker, though, fell to the ground as if head-butted.

From where he was standing behind Barr, it was no surprise the referee was hoodwinked by the Lithuanian's theatrics. Watching a replay of the incident, Velicka's team-mate Robbie Neilson could only observe that while the wind blew hard at Tynecastle, it surely didn't gust hard enough to blow Velicka over.

While the game's relationship with the principles of fair play has long been tenuous, Velicka's apparent willingness to get an opponent sent off through an act of deception left a bad taste in the mouth. Falkirk plan to appeal Barr's red card. If there's any justice, the offence will be exonerated by the SFA and Velicka brought to book for a con worthy of a cameo in the next Ocean's Eleven sequel.

According to team-mate Jack Ross, the one thing Barr can learn from the episode is not to let his emotions get the better of him. "Darren is a helluva nice lad who is not normally over-aggressive," he said.

"He jumped up and reacted to the tackle but after that didn't make any contact or do anything wrong. Perhaps the one thing he can take from this if it happens again is either to stay down or walk away. He's very disappointed but he'll learn from it."

Taken from the Scotsman