Hearts steal a trick

Hearts 1 - 1 Celtic

HEARTS didn't appear to know their place on Saturday, blatantly unaware that Celtic are copyrighted as the SPL's late goal specialists. According to trend, it should have been the visitors scoring in stoppage time to consummate victory. Except there's a touch of defiance about the Tynecastle side these days.

Instead of a perhaps predictable second goal in front of the Roseburn Stand following Scott McDonald's opener, it was Andrius Velicka at the opposite end who once again ruffled the Celtic net. As if Artur Boruc hadn't suffered enough at the hands of Hearts' impact substitute in the CIS Cup, the Pole conceded to the Lithuanian for the third time in two games.

For all Velicka's mettle under pressure, the equaliser owed almost as much to the backbone of referee Kenny Clark. Officiating a game involving an Old Firm club for whom late goals are almost ritual, Clark showed commendable bottle to award Hearts their 92nd-minute penalty, even though there was little debating that Gary Caldwell had impeded Ibrahim Tall.

Velicka lashed his kick beyond Boruc, forcing Celtic to experience the disgruntlement of conceding in the final throes of a match and consequently having two points yanked from their grasp. Not something that happens often, and the hosts were entitled to revel in the rarity of penetrating the champions' rearguard in injury-time.

"It's a big point for us, especially the way we got it," said assistant coach Stephen Frail. "Celtic are renowned, especially this season, for scoring last-minute goals. But our players kept believing they could score. Even at 1-1 we kept pushing so now we need to build on this."

The satisfaction is tempered somewhat by a glance at the SPL table, where Hearts yesterday dropped to seventh by dint of Aberdeen's victory over Hibs. "It's good for me but we only took a point, I think we must take three," said Velicka of his goal.

"Of course, if I score I'm happy. If the coach wants me to play from the bench, it's good for the team. I just accept it. In Kaunas I always scored penalties but that was my first penalty for Hearts. Last time I scored a penalty was in Lithuania before I came here."

The match was watched by a Lithuanian VIP, FBK Kaunas sport director Senderis Girsovicius looking on from behind Anatoli Korobochka in the directors' box at an encounter which, in all honesty, failed to match expectations. He donned an official Hearts coaching jacket despite being a Kaunas employee, perhaps reinforcing the theory that Vladimir Romanov's conglomerate of coaches and comrades can perform many duties for their overlord.

Girsovicius saw his compatriot Audrius Ksanavicius spurn a fine early opening with the Celtic goal at his mercy. Ruben Palazuelos, who was to have an outstanding game, slid a pass to the winger ten yards from goal but his strike veered wide. Soon after Gordon Strachan could only lament some rare profligacy from McDonald when his chance landed in the Gorgie Road stand.

The early stages in particular were played out against a backdrop of boos and jeers aimed at Steven Pressley. Hearts supporters refuse to forget the air- punching and chest-beating that characterised the defender's last outing at Tynecastle for Celtic, and his taunting exceeded that of any other visiting player. "Overall I'm pretty pleased. It was a bit tame from the supporters," observed Paul Hartley of the muted abuse which came his way. "Some of the stick wasn't too bad, I think a few ex-Hibees took the pressure off me along with Steven. It's always nice when you come back to the club you used to play for, but you want to win."

Hartley was evidently frustrated by Celtic's inability to close out the match. It was his 73rd-minute free-kick that Anthony Basso spilled into the path of McDonald, handing Strachan's side the lead on a plate. "I put a bit of swerve on it and the keeper misjudged the bend but, as all good strikers do, Scott followed up to bag a goal. He's been on fire recently," said the midfielder.

"We're disappointed to come away with a point because we thought we had the game sewn up. We've played a lot of hard games but we were really disappointed in the dressing room leaving with just a point. We felt we should have got three."

Basso could only apologise to his colleagues for the costliest of errors. "I don't know if his starting position was maybe wrong but, to be fair to Anthony, the first thing I heard in the dressing room after the game was him putting his hands up and saying he was at fault for the goal. At least he identifies that," said Frail, who pointed to Ksanavicius' early miss as a pivotal moment.

"In recent games at Tynecastle we've started very well, and I thought we did again on Saturday. If the early chance from Ksanavicius goes in then it could've been a different game, but it didn't. That allowed them to get a second wind and get their foot on the ball.

"If we'd kept the tempo up that we started with then I'm sure we'd have gone on to score. Celtic came back into it and we dropped a little, but there wasn't a great deal in it.

"We were hoping to exploit them being a little bit tired after their game against Shakhtar, but I've said to the players it's important now that we start all games in the same way. We must make sure they identify that, whether it's Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Falkirk, whoever, we approach everything in the same manner.

"Maybe we've done that and things haven't quite worked for us, but we can't just keep doing it against Celtic and Rangers. If we play like we can do against the other teams then I'm sure the results will come."

With one victory each and a draw between them from three meetings this season, Hearts and Celtic should arguably be closer together in the league table. That they aren't is down to inconsistency on the part of the Edinburgh side, but previous feelings of intimidation when facing any of the Glasgow two now appear consigned to the past.

"I don't know if there was a fear factor before, I think teams now are having a go against the Old Firm," said Frail. "We've beaten Celtic once, they've beaten us and now that's a draw so we're level. We've beaten Rangers and Hibs have beaten both sides of the Old Firm so teams are going and having a go, which is great for the league.

"What I've said is that we'll go and beat Celtic or Rangers but then not go on a run. These teams go on a run so the other sides need to be consistent."

The travelling support's unsavoury chanting of sectarian songs spoiled what was otherwise a peaceful encounter, and Boruc could consider himself fortunate to escape punishment for a reckless second-half challenge on Christian Nade.

That apart, Gorgie was unusually serene on Saturday. Until stoppage time.

Taken from the Scotsman