Hearts slip on another banana skin

Kingston 69
O'Donnell 13

VALDAS IVANAUSKAS refused to say whether his current team is stronger than the one he inherited. "Next question," he mumbled. He muttered the same thing minutes later when asked if the squad rotation system was undermining any improvement. He tried to blame it on bad luck and untimely injuries but when challenged that only a fraction were forced by injury, he opted for the predictable bodyswerve.

One question he didn't evade was whether recent performances had been good enough. Apparently not. Finally, some straight talking. But when asked what could be done about it, he had no specifics. "We will only progress if we have positive results. Today was not positive." It was a case of stating the glaringly obvious.

Vladimir Romanov was in the Tynecastle directors' box for the first time since October but while he may have caused some ripples with comments off the field this week, his appearance failed to provoke any on the park as his team again served up a poor performance, fighting back to draw 1-1.

On arrival there were bananas laid on for journalists, while the pre-match music was provided by The Monkees. If it doesn't simply fuel the anti-media paranoia, it could be considered amusing and proof that despite shipping out several other assets they have at least retained a sense of humour. But when the laughs die down, the serious matters still have to be addressed. As the players left the field at half-time, home fans, angry at trailing a side still dogged by relegation concerns, urged majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov to get it sorted.

Their side were already one down at that stage thanks to a well taken St Mirren goal in the 13th minute. The ball was played in by Garry Brady and Stephen O'Donnell, making his second start since signing from Clyde at the end of the January transfer window, charged untracked from the midfield, through the central defence to finish clinically and open his account for the Buddies. One wag suggested Craig Gordon may have questioned where his centre-backs were: "Well, one's at Celtic Park and one is at Ibrox."

For all the monkey jibes aimed at the media, which will undoubtedly win him favour with a certain element of the Tynecastle support, the sensible supporters know this side has yet failed to ape the achievements of the class of 2005/06 or even look likely to do so. This was a tough match to try to serve a reminder of those good old days.

In the two matches contested between these clubs this season, Hearts have take a solitary point from the six available, although St Mirren had failed to secure an away league victory since their previous trip to Gorgie in September.

In one of five changes from the team which looked so unimpressive against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in their last outing, Hearts reinstated Craig Gordon to the home goalmouth after his showdown talks with Romanov earlier in the week and it took only two minutes for the home support to sing for him but there was nothing he could do to prevent the opener.

The other alterations were aimed at mixing up the attacking options. In came Salius Mikoliunas, Neil McCann, Andrius Velicka and Michal Pospisil and, allied to the creativity and drive of Andrew Driver and January signing Laryea Kingston, there was a bit of added impetus in the opening stages.

Down the flanks they tested their visitors. Pospisil forced a save from Chris Smith in the eighth minute and then Velicka found the target in the 11th minute but his effort lacked power and was straight at the visiting keeper.

But then came the St Mirren goal. Set up to hit on the counter-attack, they stretched five men across the midfield, pinning their hopes on their ability to burst forward in support of Stewart Kean and they did that to perfection in the 13th minute to break the deadlock. It gave them the belief that they could again leave the capital with maximum points and they continued to play a patient game, retaining their shape and venturing forward spritely only when the space opened up.

Hearts tried to pull one back in the 19th minute when a Velicka header dipped just over the bar but there wasn't a siege mentality in the St Mirren ranks. They are a side still trying to scrape together enough points to prevent Dunfermline pegging them back and avoid a quick return to the First Division. After a buoyant start to the season, they have struggled to serve up a performance on the road which would allow them to collect full points and help them breathe more easily.

But with their defence looking solid during open play, the return to Tynecastle obviously reminded the guys in front of them what could be achieved when they got it together and they were far from over-awed or outplayed for the majority of the match.

In Kingston, however, Hearts seem to have pulled off a half-decent signing. Though he is no way as good as the man he has been brought into replace, Paul Hartley, the tricky little creator in the heart of the midfield is the new set-piece specialist. While still settling in, he is nowhere near as influential, but few could accuse him of not caring. It was the Ghanaian who in just the first minute had turned to the home support and gestured for them to get excited and offer greater vocal backing to the players. In the 47th minute he finally gave them something to get vocal about, delivering a corner Ibrahim Tall got a head to, but the full-back found Smith rather than the back of the net.

There had been grumbles up till that point but little positive from the stands until the 69th minute that is, when Kingston intervened once more with his first goal for his new club. A free-kick when Kirk Broadfoot fouled Mikoliunas just outside the box, the midfielder stepped up to whip in a perfectly-executed delivery which tucked into the far corner of Smith's goal.

St Mirren were beginning to live more dangerously as the minutes ebbed away. Refusing simply to give up on taking all three points, they maintained a high level of commitment.

They were not thrilled to settle for the draw but were the happier of the two camps. Of the nine points contested between this pair they have now taken more than half and Hearts still don't have a decent answer.

MAN OF THE MATCH: St Mirren had a number of contenders but with the defence so resolute it could have gone to any of the backline, though John Potter was a force in the heart of it so gets the nod.

ASIDE: Supposed to be good luck, a black cat staged a pitch invasion and crossed Craig Gordon's path early in the match. Unfortunately not early enough to prevent Stephen O'Donnell's opening goal.

Taken from the Scotsman