Pars make most of one-upmanship

Dunfermline 1-0 Hearts

HEARTS are a Scottish institution in their own right, and a proud one at that. They are more than just a football team. They carry a heritage which few of their aspiring counterparts can live with. So it's time to stop their authority within Scottish football being made a mockery of.

The endless bouts of political one-upmanship are embarrassing a club which has long stood as one of Scotland's greatest. Vladimir Romanov rescued Hearts from the brink, possibly of extinction, in 2005. Of that there is little doubt. He hauled them upwards to a level many at Tynecastle never believed they'd attain during last season. Now, the majority shareholder is betraying the devotion of those who matter most, the supporters, by punishing players who have the audacity to think for themselves. Then he sends Valdas Ivanauskas out to defend his egotistical madness.

For the fans, it's becoming cringe-worthy. Five thousand, two hundred of them made the pilgrimage across the Forth Road Bridge on Saturday. They should have done so in eager anticipation of witnessing a debut by their club's new signing, Laryea Kingston. Instead, there was widespread confusion over another bizarre team selection which prolonged captain Craig Gordon's exclusion from the starting line-up.

The bewilderment was only compounded come the end of the afternoon when the reality of the Scottish Cup holders' elimination set in. The travelling support occupied an astonishingly high proportion of an East End Park crowd which would total less than 10,000, yet the conviction shown by Ivanauskas' side at times fell short of that harboured by their devoted following. It may have taken them until the dying seconds, but eventually persistent Dunfermline cashed in.

Kingston played from the start as expected following his loan move from Terek Grozny. But, as news of Gordon's omission filtered through radio airwaves early in the afternoon, any excitement over the Ghanaian's maiden bow in a maroon shirt was tempered. Steve Banks was to continue in goal for Hearts following two successive shutouts against Falkirk and Rangers. Whilst keeping faith in the Englishman was admirable, it rather contradicted the words of Ivanauskas just 24 hours previously. Despite insisting to the Evening News on Friday that "Craig's groin is okay and he is coming back in to the team" against Dunfermline, the head coach had to explain the reasons for leaving him out when conducting his pre-match media interviews.

Gordon was informed the previous week at Ibrox that he would not play because the club were trying to negotiate his transfer, with Fulham and a couple of Moscow clubs interested. This time Ivanauskas stated that restricting the goalkeeper to the substitutes' bench was a "football decision" based on the prosperous performances of his deputy, Banks, in recent weeks.

However, impressive form has hardly prevented Hearts players from being dropped this season. Bruno Aguiar's dominant midfield display in the 4-0 rout of Dundee United last October saw him absent for the team's next fixture, against Hibs at Easter Road. Similarly, Juho Makela's CIS Cup hat-trick against Alloa last September was insufficient to keep him in the side at Aberdeen four days later.

Situations like Saturday's only leave Hearts open to suggestions that it is indeed Romanov, and not Ivanauskas, who is including or precluding certain players to satisfy his own agenda. Remembering Ivanauskas' statement on Friday, Gordon's would seem to be a vengeful omission linked directly to Romanov after the Scotland goalkeeper insisted he would not be transferred out of Tynecastle unless it was on his terms.

Without the departed Paul Hartley and stand-in captain Christope Berra, Gordon's omission left Hearts devoid of a genuine on-field leader. "You will have to ask someone else about the goalkeeping situation," said the club's assistant coach, Stevie Frail.

"The manager reckons Steve Banks has done well in the last few games, which he has. So that's the decision he made. I'm like any assistant manager - you don't pick the team. The manager does that.

"You are always going to miss good players, like Paul Hartley as well. It's not as if we could turn to the bench and say, 'Paul, get ready. You're going on.' He isn't here any more so we need to work with what we have. We still think we have good players and, no disrespect to Dunfermline, we should have the players to come and win this cup tie over 90 minutes. But we didn't.

"At this moment, there probably aren't many positives for us to take. Everyone at the club remembers the day we had last May [in the Scottish Cup final]. We wanted another one, but it wasn't to be. Now we have to get the heads up and hang on to the back of Rangers and try to get the second spot in the league."

The manner of defeat was painful for the visitors. Industrious Dunfermline had been dangerous in wide areas all afternoon thanks to the endeavour, skill and pace of Jim O'Brien and Adam Hamill, their loan signings from Celtic and Liverpool respectively. Nonetheless, clear chances were at a premium for Stephen Kenny's side due to their largely inept forward line.

So when substitute Owen Morrison touched his stoppage-time free-kick short to Hamill, there didn't appear any great cause for concern in the visiting camp. Ivanauskas and Frail had been aggrieved when referee Mike McCurry awarded the set-piece for a dubious foul by Marius Zaliukas on Jim Hamilton. Then, as Hamill's cross hung at the back post, Scott Wilson challenged in the air and a combination of his presence and that of Zaliukas carried the ball beyond Banks. It was the last act of a below-average cup-tie.

"Whether it was the last minute or the first minute, we are extremely disappointed to be out of the cup," said Frail.

"It seems that bit sorer because the goal came in the last minute, but as holders it's still a real kick in the teeth to be out. I don't think there was a lack of desire, we had chances to win the game and they come back to haunt you when you don't take them. I think I would put the defeat down to that.

"It was always looking like one goal would win it. We didn't defend the free-kick, whether it was a free-kick or not is another matter. We were at the other side of the pitch but it looked soft. I spoke to the referee about it and he thought there was contact from Zaliukas and decided to give the free-kick."

Neil McCann became the sixth person to captain Hearts this season due to Berra's injury, taking his place alongside Kingston in central midfield. It was the African's first start of any nature since he played for Ghana against Australia at the end of November, and he would therefore have been grateful for the tepid nature of the first half.

Only a fourth-minute penalty claim by Hearts was noteworthy when Saulius Mikoliunas, after showing fine upper body strength to force himself past Wilson, found himself floored by a Phil McGuire tackle.

As the Lithuanian lay grounded, he encountered the customary in-your-face bawling from aggrieved defenders, who clearly perceived his antics to be those of a play-actor. Kingston was also creating an impression by tackling anything that moved in midfield. Barring a second-half foul on Hamill, the Ghanaian went about his business firmly but fairly.

Dunfermline had their own penalty claim refused in the 49th minute when McGuire went down after Calum Elliot appeared to throw an arm out at the home centre-back. The game then became enlivened and Hearts enjoyed a period of offensive dominance; a right-footed Andy Driver effort meant McGuire had to head off the goal line, Mikoliunas forced the Dunfermline goalkeeper, Dorus de Vries, to parry his goalbound shot before Michal Pospisil's header from Elliot's cross was scrambled clear by De Vries low down at his right post.

The home defence was exercised again when Zaliukas' header from a corner ricocheted off the left foot of Stephen Simmons on its way to goal. De Vries, though, halted the ball with his feet.

Hamill galloped in behind Hearts substitute John Armstrong, making his competitive debut, in the 71st minute to deliver an inviting ball across the face of Banks' goal, but the unmarked Stevie Crawford could not make a connection. Roman Bednar, another visiting substitute, appeared to haul McGuire down before sprinting clear to receive Elliot's pass. His lofted effort at goal clipped the crossbar on its way over but Wilson attempted to exact retribution upon Bednar moments later with a late tackle. In truth, the defender ought to have been booked.

With a replay looking the most likely outcome, Dunfermline fashioned an unorthodox but incredibly precious goal from the contested free-kick. Whether Gordon would have stopped the ball at the back post is debatable but Ivanauskas didn't hang around East End Park to discuss the issue. Neither did the sickened Hearts support.

Whether Gordon is reinstated to the team or not this Saturday against Inverness will give grave indication of how the rest of the goalkeeper's season is likely to pan out at the hands of the Tynecastle hierarchy. Romanov's credibility is quickly evaporating. Supporters voting with their feet is never something to be encouraged, but these supporters are not stupid. Romanov won't sell his interest in Hearts to Icelandic businessman Thor Bjorgolfsson or anyone else for that matter. But he continues to sell the fans short.

Taken from the Scotsman