Kilmarnock 1 Hearts 0

By Lisa Gray, PA Sport

Hearts' European hopes were destroyed as they slumped to defeat at Kilmarnock while rivals Aberdeen romped to victory over Rangers on the final day of the Bank of Scotland Premier League season.

A 2-0 win at Pittodrie ensured the Dons clinched third place in the SPL and a UEFA Cup spot for next season regardless of events at Rugby Park.

But Hearts were even denied the consolation of a win in their final outing when Steven Naismith converted from the penalty spot with 10 minutes to go to secure all three points for Killie.

For Hearts, Sunday's game plan had been simple; win at Rugby Park and hope for Rangers to inflict defeat upon Aberdeen.

However, Kilmarnock made it clear from the outset there would be no favours from them, even if former Jambos boss Jim Jefferies was in the dug-out.

It may have been the last game of the season and Killie may have had nothing other than professional pride to play for, but it quickly became apparent the game would not be lacking a competitive edge.

Jefferies named the same strong side which recorded a 1-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox last week, while Hearts made two changes following their derby triumph over Hibernian, Ibrahim Tall and Jose Goncalves replacing Christos Karipidis and Takis Fyssas.

Referee Bill Collum proved to be the hardest working man on the pitch early on, brandishing the first yellow card of the game with just five minutes on the clock.

Frazer Wright was cautioned for a cynical challenge on Saulius Mikoliunas on the touchline, setting the tone for a no-holds-barred match.

With Europe on their minds, the first real chance fell to Hearts when Roman Bednar burst through on goal but young Ryan O'Leary did well to intercept and clear the danger before he could pull the trigger.

The resultant corner did not provide much joy for the Jambos either, with Tall nodding wide of the near post from a few yards out.

Kilmarnock's Momo Sylla then followed team-mate Wright into the referee's book following an off-the-ball incident, with Mikoliunas again the victim.

Tempers flared again and this time Kestutis Ivaskevicius was cautioned for a trip on Sylla, before Sylla nodded wide from Gary Locke's free-kick.

Hearts had another decent chance when a cross from the left landed at the feet of Mikoliunas in front of goal but he swiped wildly at the ball, missing completely and allowing goalkeeper Alan Combe to smother.

At the other end, Sylla lashed a thunderous drive just over from the edge of the area, before goalkeeper Craig Gordon was called into action to touch Aime Koudou's effort just wide.

The stand housing the Hearts fans, who had been so exuberant before the match, suddenly fell silent, as news of Aberdeen's two-goal lead began to filter through.

Mikoliunas then went to ground under pressure from Wright in the box but there appeared to be little in the challenge and no penalty was awarded despite the half-hearted pleas from the Hearts fans.

Kilmarnock made a change at the break, Gordon Greer making way for Garry Hay, who had an immediate impact on the game.

Bednar turned Murray on the corner of the six-yard box before unleashing the shot at goal but Hay threw himself in front of the ball to block and keep the scoreline level.

Hearts had clearly been affected by the half-time scoreline at Aberdeen and appeared to have lost their cutting edge in the second half.

But Bednar still looked like the man most likely to open the scoring for the Jambos - only to squander another opportunity by rifling over from 10 yards.

Kilmarnock could have snatched the win with less than 20 minutes to go when Wright connected well with Locke's corner a few yards out only for his point-blank header to be held by Gordon.

The crime count grew as the game neared its conclusion, Christophe Berra booked for a challenge on Naismith and Mikoliunas cautioned for moaning about the yellow card.

Just when the game looked destined to end goalless, the referee pointed to the spot when Naismith went down, claiming to have been tripped in the box by Gordon.

The young striker stepped up for the spot-kick himself and kept his cool to slot just wide of the fingertips of the Hearts goalkeeper, ensuring a miserable end to an already disappointing day for the Jambos.

Teams:

Kilmarnock Combe, O'Leary, Frazer Wright, Greer (Hay 45),Grant Murray, Fowler, Locke, Sylla, Naismith, Nish (Wales 46),Koudou (Gibson 61).

Subs Not Used: Harpur, Dodds, Di Giacomo, Hamill.

Booked: Frazer Wright, Sylla, Gibson.

Goals: Naismith 82 pen.

Hearts Gordon, Berra, Goncalves, Zaliukas, Tall, Mikoliunas,Driver, Kingston, Ivaskevicius, Bednar, Pospisil.

Subs Not Used: Banks, Wallace, McCann, Elliot, Neilson,

Pilibaitis, Karipidis.

Booked: Ivaskevicius, Berra, Mikoliunas, Gordon.

Att: 11,030

Ref: W Collum (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com