Kilmarnock 3 - 1 Hearts

IT'S a shame that the shambles that is Heart of Midlothian Football Club keeps distracting attention from fine displays by their SPL rivals. Kilmarnock's win, which took them into the top six, was almost forgotten about amid the latest nonsense.

In brief: Steve Banks, the goalkeeper, is dropped, presumably at the behest of Vladimir Romanov. "He is rested because he is goalkeeping coach as well," insist Hearts. Hm-hmm.

Part 2: Christian Nade, the Hearts striker, is sent off on half time for a moronic shove on Frazer Wright's face.
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Part 3: After Gary Wales' superbly taken goal, Hearts' Robbie Neilson concedes a penalty. Colin Nish makes it 2-0 from the spot. Game over. Stephen Frail, the assistant coach, is sent off for moaning, setting up the ridiculous situation of the snubbed Banks having to take charge.

Part 4: Banks' replacement, Anthony Basso, caps an unconvincing display by booting the ball straight to Willie Gibson, who makes it 3-0.

Epilogue: Frail is too scared or depressed to face the media and explain the day's events. Midfielder Michael Stewart is effectively made spokesman, with Sport Director Anataloy Korobochka and Advisor on Sports Matters to the Board Eduard Malofeev nowhere to be seen.

A joke. And we've hardly mentioned Kilmarnock, whose position after a quarter of the season, despite umpteen injuries, deserves great credit.

Such was their dominance in the closing stages against 10 uninterested men, that "olés" rang out. Alan Combe, the goalkeeper from Leith, indulged in some keepie-uppie in his box, and was booked for taunting the Hearts fans a bit too much.

"I've always had a bit of banter with them," said Combe, who was annoyed to concede Ibrahim Tall's late header from a set-piece. "They were giving me a bit of abuse, but it's all light-hearted. We've lost the goal at the end and I've just kissed my jersey. If that's a booking I don't know what is. The referee William Collum has to show a sense of humour."

Not much chance of that, though Collum was right to book the keeper. Not all the other seven bookings were as necessary in a typically over-officious display from Scotland's supposed best young referee.

One instance when he strayed from the letter of the law was when Stewart kicked the ball away after being booked and was not sent off. Combe's effort to convince the officials to give him a second yellow did not endear him to the away fans.

"The referee's not looking that way but the linesman's looking straight at it and how he does nothing I'll never know," added Combe.

Taken from the Herald