Never-ending Hearts tour grinds to a halt

HEARTS warmed up for the arrival of Spanish superstars Barcelona with defeat as they finally called a halt to their mammoth pre-season tour of Austria and Germany.

Jambos fell to South African side Moroka Swallows after a first half goal from Lefa Tsutsulupa made it just two wins from six for the Edinburgh side.

It also brought to an end what is one of the longest pre-season breaks a Scottish side has ever undertaken, with only the might of Ronaldinho and co now standing between Hearts and a seasonal opener with Hibs on August 6th.

It was day 23 on the road for Hearts as they prepared to welcome South African top flight side Moroka Swallows at their training camp in Meschede.

Two wins out of five for Hearts didn't tell the whole story for the Edinburgh side who have clearly gone through their paces in a mammoth training stint in Austria and Germany.

From the beauty of their scenic base in Austria cut out in the heart of the mountains in Walschee to the hardened city of Essen to face the German side Rot-Weiss, Hearts have made real progress on this tour.

The talk of dressing room unrest and splits in the camp may well have been valid at points last term but it has been grossly over-exaggerated this season.

The impeccable people skills of Stevie Frail, evident on the training field as he does his bit to unite the several nations in Hearts' dressing room, have contributed to their new found togetherness.

A 5-1 win over Dutch Eresdivisie side Heracles Almelo on the eve of this game saw Hearts turn in a clinical and hugely professional display against a team at a similar level to them.

The fact that Craig Gordon is still on board with them following two weeks of intense speculation over a proposed move to Premiership side Sunderland is also a huge bonus.

However, with the Premiership vultures still circling it remains to be seen whether or not the Scotland keeper is still in town come the big kick-off on August 6th against Hibs.

Gordon sat on the bench for this one yesterday as Steve Banks, a more than able deputy, was given another opportunity to stake his claim to become a regular No 1 should the current holder of the gloves move on.

Banks was one of no fewer than ten changes to the side that started in the win over their Dutch opponents on Friday, with Robbie Neilson the most recognisable other face in a youth-filled starting XI.

The intrigue in the line-up came in the shape of highly-rated youngsters Branimir Kostadinov and Dumitriu Copil, both of whom are tipped to make an impact on the first team next term.

Romanian teenager Copil turned down Celtic to sign a long-term contract with Jambos and for the small band of Hearts fans, and the curious couple who sported Hoops jerseys, it was a chance to see attacking midfielder in the flesh.

Portuguese trialist Rui Baio was also given one last chance to shine before the Tynecastle side make their minds up on the midfielder.

Two things struck you about how bizarre pre-season friendlies can be as the teams lined-up to the welcoming strains of Mull of Kintyre; the crowd was swelled by a huge pack of local boy scouts, and the constant chiming of the local church bells drowned out any noise there was from the crowd for the opening ten minutes.

Nicknamed the Birds, the South African side flew out at the start. First Ivin Winstanley had a ten-yard effort blocked by the legs of the diving Banks, then Jonsson had to keep his wits about him to head out a James Mayinga header after Oerson Cecil's corner caused confusion in the Hearts defence.

On 22 minutes, Baio passed up on the chance to cap his trial with a goal after latching onto Gary Glen's low pass to fire wide from 18 yards.

But it was the Birds who looked the most likely, and again Jonsson was involved as the South African side were denied a penalty.

Alton Meiring shrugged off Jonsson to go one-on-one with Banks, but as he geared up to pull the trigger, he fell under the challenge of Lee Wallace.

Official Rene Kunsleben ruled there had been no infringement and, with 23 minutes on the clock, Hearts lived to fight another day. Or rather, 11 minutes, which is how much time passed until Edgar Davids lookalike Lefa Tsutsulupa rose to head a Cecil Oerson corner.saw more domination from the South African side, who continued to pin back Hearts, by now strengthened by the arrival of Michael Stewart, Christophe Berra and Juho Makela to the side.

Hearts

failure to convert in front of goal cannot really be called into question since this was an experimental line-up.

However, they will hope the real action will start when Barca touch down in Scotland this week.

Hearts: Banks; Neilson, Wallace (Stewart 46), Jonsson (Berra 46), McGowan, Mackle, Copil, Baio, Kostadinov, Glen (Makela 46), Park. Subs: Gordon; Pospisil, Zaliukas.

Moroka Swallows: Mathibe; Winstanley, Hanskins, Mazibuko, Hummel, Kasinauyo, Oerson, Mayinga, Tsutsulupo, Mokoro, Meiring.

Referee: R Kunsleben.

Taken from the Scotsman