Flying visit clinches win

Hearts 1
Falkirk 0

FREE-FLOWING and inspiring it wasn't but Valdas Ivanauskas rushed out of Tynecastle destined for Moscow full of satisfaction after seeing his side garner three vital points from Falkirk.

The Lithuanian Hearts boss was rightly criticised for a bizarre substitution against Celtic the previous weekend which saw Calum Elliot deployed in an unorthodox midfield role. This time, Ivanauskas' second-half alterations, which seemed bizarre at the time, had a telling impact on the outcome.

All three Hearts substitutes - Ibrahim Tall, Andy Driver and Roman Bednar - combined in that order to produce the game's only goal just when many inside Tynecastle were questioning the hosts' conviction.

Ivanauskas, though, didn't linger to accept the deserved credit. By the time his assistant, Stevie Frail, was undertaking the post-match media conference, the head coach was in a taxi on his way to Edinburgh airport to catch a flight to Russia. Urgent transfer business with majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov was high on the agenda.

Ivanauskas also left behind an enraged John Hughes, who, as well as seeing his resolute group of players defeated despite playing an attractive brand of football in disgraceful conditions, had to contend with the 90th-minute dismissal of defender Darren Barr for violent conduct. Barr reacted to having his legs swiped from beneath him by Andrius Velicka and engaged in chest-to-chest confrontation with the Hearts player on the edge of the visitors' penalty area. Velicka fell rather dramatically to the turf and, after a ten-man shoving contest involving players from both sides, referee Steve Conroy flashed the red card at Barr and booked Velicka for the original tackle.

"I'm not having it," barked Hughes. "The ref says he stuck the head on him but that's not what I saw and it's not what you saw. When you have a guy like young Darren, who is possibly the most honest and hardworking player I have, tell you that he didn't touch him, then he didn't touch him. And I also expect more from Velicka as a professional player."

Falkirk will appeal the decision, and Hughes may also feel within his rights to challenge the result of this game on the grounds that his side were every inch the equal of their opponents. Of course, it wouldn't be a Hearts match without a strong conspiracy theory as a sub-plot. This time it was the absence of Craig Gordon which raised eyebrows, although the goalkeeper was genuinely unfit to play due to a groin injury. His place was taken by the veteran Steve Banks.

"I feel a bit sorry for Steve because he always seems to come in on the back of these conspiracies," said Frail. "Craig has a genuine groin injury so we thought it was best to leave him out. Steve came in and kept a clean sheet, so I'm pleased. It's a big three points for us."

The Tynecastle ground staff deserved enormous credit for ensuring the pitch was playable on Saturday following torrential overnight rain. An 11am inspection was passed and Hearts fans entering the ground speculated on news filtering out that their first-choice goalkeeper would be absent. Ivanauskas had stressed at the time of Gordon's appointment as captain that Paul Hartley would remain vice-captain. However, the midfielder was overlooked for the armband and it was Christophe Berra who led the home side out into a blustery arena in front of another capacity crowd.

A scrappy beginning was always likely given the overhead conditions but Falkirk tried to keep the ball grounded when possible. Hearts toiled for rhythm early on until Hartley unleashed a troublesome drive after 19 minutes. Falkirk's goalkeeper, the on-loan Kasper Schmeichel from Manchester City, evoked memories of his father by palming the ball away after a sprightly dive to his right.

The visitors then mounted their first serious attack and won a corner from a misplaced clearance by Marius Zaliukas. Russell Latapy's inswinging kick was won by Cedric Uras in the air and Banks' save fell on to the head of Barr, who could only nod the ball wide from within spitting range.

Proceedings then swung to the opposite end again when Neil McCann lofted a pinpoint pass in behind Jack Ross and on to the toe of Velicka. The Lithuanian steadied himself for a right-footed shot but Schmeichel produced another impressive stop with his left leg. It wasn't just the luminous orange jersey that was setting the young goalkeeper apart.

Hartley's meandering run in the 40th minute presented Mikoliunas with a clear opening on the right of Falkirk's penalty area. Much to his anguish, the mercurial winger thrashed the ball against the crossbar with Schmeichel beaten. But Hearts continued probing, which to a certain extent helped mask their own inadequacies down the right side. Christos Karipidis had been employed as a third-choice right-back with Robbie Neilson and Nerijus Barasa injured and looked uncomfortable both in holding his position and distributing the ball forward. Inside him, Zaliukas was also strangely hesitant.

Vitor Lima was arguably Falkirk's most dynamic servant, although the Portuguese should have been cautioned for scything down Mikoliunas in the lead-up to the interval.

As the second half began it was evident that the continued lack of fluency suited Hughes more than it did Ivanauskas. The Gorgie natives were becoming restless and vented their dissatisfaction at Zaliukas' 61st-minute withdrawal, showing admirable backing for a player who was widely ridiculed earlier in the season. The alteration was designed to compose the home defence with Tall the replacement. Bednar had already taken over from the ineffective Jamie Mole, and Driver appeared for Mikoliunas seven minutes later to take up position on the right flank despite strongly favouring his left foot.

With the exception of Bednar the changes seemed difficult to fathom, but Ivanauskas' boldness was soon justified. A fine cross from the enterprising Hartley ricocheted off Velicka and crept wide on 72 minutes before the game turned inside 90 pulsating seconds. Thomas Scobbie's ball deep into the penalty area from the Falkirk left was attacked by Lima for a header that beat Banks but rolled back off the goalkeeper's left upright. Jolted into action, Hearts ran up the pitch to compound their visitors' misfortune. Tall executed a solid tackle on Alan Gow and moved deep into the visitors' half in possession of the ball. He fed Driver, whose right-footed cross was cushioned beyond Schmeichel by the left foot of Roman Bednar.

"I think credit has to go to the manager for the substitutions," said Frail. "It was great to see one of our strikers scoring. Ibrahim Tall came forward and gave it wide to Andy Driver, he put a good cross in and Roman was on the end of it. It was a flowing move and the players combined well."

It was one of Hearts' few cohesive movements of the afternoon, but making it count brought genuine delight as the home bench erupted in delirium. Unfortunately, there was an air of unpleasantness by the time Conroy's final whistle sounded after Barr's ordering off. Velicka had excelled himself with an afternoon of relentless industry and tireless effort in attack but his tackle on Barr and subsequent reaction were distasteful. Barr was equally wrong for confronting the striker in an aggressive manner, although a caution apiece would probably have sufficed.

Ivanauskas, below, had little time to debate the injustice or otherwise. He had more important matters to attend to in eastern Europe. That said, the significance of the three points would not have been lost on the head coach as he was flown off. Neither would the impact of his alterations.

Taken from the Scotsman