Pospisil uses the head in brawl

HEARTS declared themselves the best pub team in Edinburgh last weekend, and they lived up to the billing yesterday by getting involved in a needless rammy right on chucking out time.

Jose Goncalves was sent off by referee Mike Ritchie just seconds before the whistle after running at least 20 yards to remonstrate with the grounded Gary Wales, who had lunged in on Christophe Berra right on halfway, sparking an incident which saw both sets of subs and technical staff enter the field of play.

Momo Sylla, the Portuguese left-back's real adversary in the incident, was fortunate to escape censure for a slap on Goncalves, and other potential pugilists included Frazer Wright and Gary Locke of Kilmarnock, Hearts' Julien Brellier and substitute goalkeeper Steve Banks. Suffice to say it all somewhat overshadowed the late header by substitute Michal Pospisil to secure this laboured win which moved Hearts to within three points of Aberdeen in the chase for third place.
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Afterwards former Hearts boss Jim Jefferies praised the referee's handling of the incident, insisting that the Portuguese player had brought it on himself, and that nothing warranted investigation by the SFA.

"It is quite simple," Jefferies said, before elaborating on the incident at length. "It is a daft, rash challenge from Wales. He is going to get booked, which he has no complaints about, so why Goncalves comes running 30 yards to get involved and trigger off a reaction from many players I just find incredible.

"He has only got himself to blame. I don't know why the players wanted to get involved. I was standing in amongst it saying for Christ's sake calm down lads'. The referee dealt with it brilliantly. If he Sylla did something we will be taking it up with him, but everybody was shoving. There was a lot of brave men out there but they were all ducking and diving."

His opposite number, Hearts assistant coach Stephen Frail, may have pleased his Lithuanian paymasters with his use of the Arsene Wenger card. "I saw the free-kick, but I didn't see what happened with Jose afterwards," Frail said. "I criticise the players when they don't back up their teammates, so I can't really criticise for them all going in the way they did." It just wouldn't be Tynecastle, of course, if there wasn't also a bizarre selection controversy for Frail to comment upon.

On this occasion, he had to account for a nine-minute spell in the second half when - despite Hearts being the home team and apparently pushing for third place - all three of the recognised strikers on the field were wearing a Kilmarnock jersey. Having started with just lone striker Andrius Velicka up front, interim head coach Anatoly Korobochka angered the home fans with his decision to withdraw him in place of Neil McCann just after the hour mark.

Fortunately his next substitute, Pospisil, took just four minutes to find the net when presented with a free header from Laryea Kingston's pinpoint free-kick.

"You are trying to win the game and when you take a striker off it looks a bit bizarre," Frail said afterwards. "To be fair he was tired, but Anatoly reckoned it was the change that had to be made so we made it. Although that wasn't the change which won us the game, we eventually won, so we'll take it."

The theme from Cheers was played over the Tannoy before and after the game, the latest slightly tiresome reference to John Collins' "pub team" jibes in the aftermath of last week's derby win, but with Craig Gordon permitted to write in the match programme, the return of the feelgood factor at Tynecastle was unmistakable.

Hearts would spend much of the match as if suffering from a hangover, but there was no shortage of action in the warm-up, as Marius Zaliukas sustained an injury which presented journeyman Lithuanian centre-half Tomas Kancelskis with his first start, and even brought forgotten Scotland international Robbie Neilson back into the fold with a place on the bench.

Injury worries caused Kilmarnock to introduce Jamie Hamill into midfield, and although the youngster's first involvement was to inadvertently tackle teammate Sylla, plenty of his other interventions were superb.

Sylla received treatment for a nosebleed during the first half, and it was symptomatic of what happened on the few occasions when anyone got anything close to a goalscoring chance.

The closest Hearts came was when a series of corners led to Peter Leven clearing Berra's header off the line, then when Velicka got away from Gordon Greer only for his shot to endanger a couple of kids in the front row more than the Kilmarnock goal.

Kingston was at least trying, and as half-time approached his fiercely struck volley whistled a couple of feet wide. It says something that there were groans from the home fans when the official indicated there would be two minutes of injury time.

Aside from the introduction of David O'Leary's nephew Ryan for the injured Simon Ford, there was little change after the break.

Again chances were sporadic, with Velicka's diving header hitting the advertising hoardings at one end, and Steven Naismith skewing his drive across goal after Colin Nish's cross at the other.

Eventually Pospisil was introduced, and the Czech striker found space in the Kilmarnock box to aim a downward header beyond Graeme Smith.

Kilmarnock forced a few close things before the game's acrimonious ending, but Hearts had already landed the knockout blow.

Taken from the Herald