No substitute for stability as Hearts impress with strongest team available

HEARTS 4 Ksanavicius (5) Zaliukas (27) Velicka (58) Nade (68)

FALKIRK 2 Barrett (87) Moutinho (89)
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THOSE with a penchant for intrigue may wish to seek obscure explanations for Hearts' recent return to form, but the real reason is surely a simple one. It has little or nothing to do with bonding exercises in Lithuanian hotels or Italian restaurants, and everything to do with getting the right players out on the park.

Stephen Frail, the club's assistant coach, said on Friday that he now knew his strongest line-up, with the caveat that there was still competition for a couple of places. A day later, that strongest line-up was out on the pitch, and the result was a sixth victory in seven games.

Left-back is one position yet to be determined, although Tomas Kancelskis performed well enough here to merit an extended run. And the competition up front will become fiercer once Christian Nade is fully match fit and Mauricio Pinilla returns from injury. With those partial exceptions, however, this was surely the best, most well- balanced side Hearts can field.

The spine is there, with Christophe Berra and Marius Zaliukas at centre-back and Eggert Jonsson behind Michael Stewart in central midfield. And the width is there too, with Andrew Driver on the left and Laryea Kingston on the right. It is still debatable whether Hearts are getting the most out of the Ghanaian in that position, but they can afford to play him there provided his team-mates are playing well enough inside him, as Stewart certainly was in this match.

The Scotland internationalist's appetite for the contest was shown in the opening minutes, when he began an attack from deep in his own half by launching a cross-field ball to Driver then embarked on an 80-yard run into the Falkirk box. He did get to Driver's cross, but the slightest mistiming of his run made him shoot over.

It was obvious then that Falkirk were going to be in trouble down the flanks, and they did not help themselves by playing too narrowly in midfield. This left the full-backs, Dean Holden and Thomas Scobbie, with too much ground to cover, and the latter in particular was badly exposed at times.

The opening goal was a case in point. Jonsson's ball from midfield to the right wing found Kingston in ample space, and his cross was accurately despatched into the net by Audrius Ksanavicius.

Falkirk created a reasonable amount of openings in the first half-hour, notably a fierce shot from Holden which Steve Banks did well to tip over. But, once Marius Zaliukas made it 2-0 with a shot after Darren Barr had headed a Stewart corner back out to him, the contest was effectively over.

Driver and Ksanavicius had opportunities to put their side three ahead before half-time only to be foiled by Tim Krul. Following a fallow period at the start of the second half, however, the Falkirk goalkeeper was unable to prevent Andrius Velicka from finding the net.

Jonsson began the move by winning possession and passing to Kancelskis in space. The defender timed his pass to Velicka well, and the striker, as he had done against St Mirren six days earlier, advanced on the goalkeeper then slotted home precisely.

Velicka gave way to Nade five minutes later, and it was not long before the Frenchman got his own name on the scoresheet. A formidably strong figure, Nade also has an impressively subtle touch, and he showed both qualities when exchanging passes with Kingston, making his way into the box, and shooting past Krul.

The only real flaw on an otherwise satisfactory afternoon for the home team was their inability to concentrate right until the end. They have only had one clean sheet in the league this season, but looked to be on course for a second until Graham Barrett got behind the defence to score three minutes from time.

That minor irritation briefly threatened to become somewhat worse when Pedro Moutinho grabbed a second for the visitors two minutes later, and another 60 seconds further on panic would have ensued, at least in the stands, if Banks had not managed to get down to a Barrett shot and turn it round for a corner.

Falkirk deserved to get something from the game, but 4-2 was not an accurate reflection of the way Hearts were in control. They are up to fifth place now, and will go fourth if they defeat Dundee United on Saturday week. That will not in itself be any cause for prolonged celebration, but there can be little doubt that Hearts, after too much tinkering, have now found a rational formula for success and are moving in the right direction as a result. One more sign that the coaching team at Tynecastle are working well together: even the substitutions made sense.

Taken from the Scotsman