Hearts step in right direction

By BARRY ANDERSON
Hearts 2 - 2 Motherwell
THE frosted covering on the pitch was misleading, as was the chill in the air. There is a definite thaw occurring at Tynecastle just now as the Hearts players gradually warm to Stephen Frail's leadership and the first hour of this enthralling match provided sound evidence of it.
On a bitingly cold afternoon, the hosts were composed, confident and in control, their performance belying the chasm between these sides in the league.

Then, from somewhere, Motherwell mustered the wherewithal for a stinging comeback which merely added to the entertainment value. Perhaps the late Phil O'Donnell had intervened from above to ensure his former colleagues didn't surrender their place in the Scottish Cup so meekly.

An encouraging Hearts display shouldn't be allowed to cloud the fact that more than two months have lapsed since their last victory. Nor should it mask their inability to close out Saturday's game and progress to the fifth round of the tournament.

But, when fate conspires against you, human nature is to seek positives. And finally there are a few positives for Frail and his associates.

Rather than freeze under pressure in an all-SPL cup tie, Hearts displayed dynamism and cohesive passing in equal measure, both of which will be essential next Tuesday when this game is replayed at Fir Park.

They were well served by goalscorers Deividas Cesnauskis and Andrius Velicka, as well as the dominant Christophe Berra, just as Motherwell largely had Ross McCormack to thank for their second-half renaissance.

Discarding a two-goal advantage could never be described as anything other than negligent but the final scoreline owed more to Motherwell's spirited recovery than any incompetence on the part of Frail's side. The winners of the replay will host Huntly or Dundee, Frail's former club, so his frustration at seeing victory snatched from Hearts' grasp was understandable.

But accentuating the positives of Hearts' minor revival was uppermost in the mind of the caretaker manager. "There are tiny signs from our point of view in terms of tiny bits of progress, because for the first 60 minutes I thought we were excellent," he said. "I'm pleased to still be in the draw but disappointed with the way we lost the goals.

"I need to take the positives. The disappointing thing is the manner of the goals we lost. It is something we can look to fix.

"I'm just disappointed we aren't through to the next round and talking about building on a victory, but we're still in the cup and we've got a massive game this week against Hibs."

The pivotal moment occurred shortly after the hour. Classy finishing from Cesnauskis and Velicka had Hearts comfortably 2-0 ahead and, as Cesnauskis' right-sided cross swung towards the unmarked Audrius Ksanavicius, a third seemed odds-on.

However, the forward took the phrase "downward header" too literally and nodded the ball into the turf, making for a safe catch for Graeme Smith.

Seconds later, Hearts' advantage was halved as Chris Porter converted McCormack's cutback.

Then, following some indecisive defending from Berra and Ruben Palazuelos, Porter swivelled to hook Keith Lasley's cross past Eduardas Kurskis for the equaliser.

As the 3200 travelling supporters danced with delight, you wondered if Motherwell had benefited from O'Donnell's divine intervention. Whatever it was, you could not begrudge them parity.

"To come from two down at Tynecastle and draw is very pleasing, especially under the circumstances," said Mark McGhee, the Fir Park manager. "This was always going to be a difficult tie for us for football reasons. Emotionally it has been a difficult couple of weeks but I think our lads showed they are back."

Had Ksanavicius converted his missed opportunity, a Motherwell comeback would have been virtually impossible.

Frail, below, continued: "We had a couple of chances in the first half, we went two up and then we had the best chance at 2-0 when Ksanavicius had the header at the back post which didn't go in. Motherwell then went up the park and scored. I said at half-time when we were one up that we had to take our chances.

"In light of everything that has happened in the last couple of weeks we asked for a cracking cup tie, and I think most players produced that. If we play 90 minutes like we did for 65 or 70 then we've got good players who can cause teams problems. But we need to concentrate for 90 and play like that for 90 minutes."Kurskis played in goal due to injuries to Steve Banks and Anthony Basso, and it must be said that the Lithuanian delivered a safe display and couldn't be faulted for either goal. Hearts' defence has been chastised at times this season but here they were simply carved open by an extremely clever Motherwell attack, orchestrated by McCormack.

"Things aren't going for us just now and we just have to keep battling on, taking the positives," said Berra. "We are starting to play better now, training has changed and it's more enjoyable and we are looking sharper. Hopefully results will start coming our way but we can't just fix it in one week or two weeks, it's going to take three or four."

One thing Hearts cannot be criticised for is their new-found willingness to attack freely.

Under Frail, the employment of two traditional wingers in a four-man mid
field has imbued the side with fresh impetus and craft on the flanks. Cesnauskis again looked stronger and sharper following his extensive injury lay-off and, on the opposite side, Andy Driver gave the team balance.

"We gave them a licence to switch and cause Motherwell's back four problems, and they did," said Frail, who was forced to withdraw both wide players in the second half due to minor injuries. "As soon as we put Lee Wallace on Motherwell got the second goal, which was nothing to do with Lee. We had to do it.

"It was disappointing to have wee bits of luck going against you. For example, we had Lee ready to head one in at the back post and it hit the top of the crossbar from Velicka's shot near the end. There are positives, though, and it is all about tiny steps we need to get up there."

Tiny steps for now, but Hearts' strides are getting bigger with each passing week.

Taken from the Scotsman