JIMMY CALDERWOOD had the bare-faced cheek to brand Christian Nade "lazy"after the striker blasted the winner at Pittodrie.

Okay, so the size of the Frenchman's rear and appearance suggested he would rather have been in bed than thrust back into action in Aberdeen.

Who could blame the former Sheffield United man for not wanting to pull his own weight?

But when Stuart Duff made, well, an a**e of a back pass, Nade leapt on the chance like a 100 metre runner before blasting past Jamie Langfield to leave the Dons boss talking out of his backside.

Caretaker gaffer Stevie Frail said: "It was a great piece of awareness and a fantastic finish."

Appearances can sometimes be deceptive but the 23-year-old gave Calderwood's players enough warnings of what he was capable of. Early on Nade took a defence-splitting pass from the impressive Andrius Velicka in his path but fired wide with just Langfield to beat.

He then used his bulky frame to hold off Zander Diamond and find Velicka in the box but Jackie McNamara raced back to clear the Lithuanian's shot off the line.

But there was nothing the Dons could do to stop Nade once Duff had headed the ball into his path as the striker slowly made his way back from the halfway line.

Calderwood said: "To be honest Nade was being a bit lazy.

If that was my player I wouldn't be too happy with they way he got back but he got a wee break."

But while Nade might be accused of being bone idle at times, Frail felt his players had given every ounce of their bodies.

He said: "I'mreally pleased, proud and chuffed with the way we battled. Our lads put everything into the game and threw themselves into every challenge.

"We had to work hard because this is a tough place to come."

Jambos skipper Christophe Berra added: "Pittodrie is a difficult place to visit. The boys showed great character and fought for one another."

Velicka epitomised the gutsy character of the Hearts team.

He gave every ounce of breath before leaving the pitch to a chorus of appreciation from the travelling contingent.

Velicka failed to add to his 12 goals this season but Frail fears his ability will spark interest before the transfer window shuts.

He said: "Andrius was helped by Nade and he took the pressure off right him.

"He gave 100 per cent and gave them a lot of trouble. He summed our performance up. I was really chuffed with him.

"I want to keep him. There are still a few days left before the window closes and I hope nobody comes in. I want to keep my top players because the team are going in the right direction."

But Hearts were given a big hand by debutant Duff. The local boy came on for skipper Scott Severin early on but he must have wished he'd delayed his return as he inexplicably handed Nade his big chance to move Hearts to within touching distance of the top six.

Calderwood, whose side suffered a blow in their bid to finish third in the SPL, also had to watch Severin, Derek Young and Jamie Smith all hobble off to give the boss an anxious few days before he picks a side to play Dundee United in the CIS Cup semi-final tomorrow.

He said: "Losing those three players didn't help matters.

"Seve has a dead leg and Derek has been struggling with aback problem so I hope they will be fit in a few days.

"I also hope Jamie coming off early has saved him and all three will be okay for Tuesday."

By contrast the Jambos couldn't be in better shape going into Wednesday's showdown with Rangers.

Berra said: "It's a massive game. We beat Rangers at Tynecastle and were close to getting a point at Ibrox.

"We know they are there for the taking and if we perform like we did at Pittodrie then Rangers will be in for a helluva game on Wednesday."

Steve Banks pulled off a wonder save from Ricky Foster late on but the game should have been dead and buried with subs Ricardas Beniusis and Audrius Ksanavicius both squandering great chances as the Dons committed men forward.

Berra said: "We could have had three or four goals because there were quite a few good chances and their keeper made afew good saves.

"I don't think Banks had much to do other than the one great save from long range.

"We dealt with everything they threw at us and it could have been more in the end."

Berra again made a case for Frail's long-term appointment, saying: "Since Shaggy took over training is more high tempo and enjoyable.

"We've kept clean sheets in our last two league games and in the Cup we lost to a penalty as Motherwell created nothing.

"The solid base is the defence and now we can build on that and perhaps take our chances a bit more."

But it wouldn't be Hearts without a moment of controversy, Saulius Mikoliunas booked for diving in the area after achallenge from McNamara.

Ref Willie Collum booked the man who conned a penalty for Lithuania against Scotland.

But his captain jumped to the defence of the "victimised" winger.

Berra said: "Miko has maybe got a reputation for what happened against Scotland.

"These things are maybe going to go against him and he will have to learn from that.

"He is a good lad and if he says it's a penalty, he is my team-mate and I believe him. I will back him to the hilt."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Andrius Velicka (Hearts)

MATCH STATS

POSSESSION %

53 47

SHOTS ON TARGET

5 6

SHOTS OFF TARGET

9 4

CORNERS

5 4

FOULS CONCEDED

13 15

OFF SIDES

5 1

ABERDEEN MAN BY MAN

Jamie Langfield: Denied Velicka overhead kick. Couldn't do the same to Nade. 6

Jackie McNamara:Didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Led by example. 7

Zander Diamond:Powerless to stop Nade when it mattered most. 6

Andrew Considine: Old head on young shoulders. Timely tackles in key areas. 7

Richard Foster: Brought back in and hardly put a foot wrong. Almost levelled. 6

Jeffrey de Visscher: Cut inside too often when he should have gone for the jugular. 5

Scott Severin: Lasted until just after the half-hour mark because of inury. 4

Barry Nicholson: Flitted in and out but still gave everything in search of equaliser. 6

Derek Young: Hobbled off just before the half-hour mark. 4

Jamie Smith:Tried hard to weave his magic but fell out of things before the end. 6

Lee Miller: Had goal disallowed for offside. Won share of aerial duels with Berra. 6

Subs: Stuart Duff: Slack pass handed Hearts breakthrough, 4. Chris Maguire: Did his best, 3. Steve Lovell: Replaced Smith, 3.

HEARTS MAN BY MAN

Steve Banks: Foiled Foster with stunning save. Dealt with everything else. 7

Robbie Neilson: Defended with minimum of fuss and found time to break forward. 6

Christophe Berra: Eventually booked but showed he's up for the cause. 7

Christos Karipidis: Adopted safety-first policy in defence that served him well. 7

Jose Goncalves: Tower of strength at back when hosts piled on pressure. 6

Eggert Jonsson: Looked useful when given time on the ball to pick his pass. 6

Ruben Palazuelos:Dug deep in midfield to keep Nicholson at bay. 6

Michael Stewart: Never stamped his authority but still kept the ball well. 6

Saulius Mikoliunas: Did a lot of unseen work to match his undoubted ability. 6

Christian Nade:Kept his cool to slot in decisive strike. Used power to good effect.7

Andrius Velicka: Came close to breaking the deadlock in the first half. A handful. 8

Subs: Audrius Ksanavicius - replaced Nade and did fine, 4. Ricardas Beniusis - on just to run down the clock, 2. Neil McCann - only got last few minutes, 1.

MAGIC MOMENT

Christian Nade reacted to mistake to fire the ball past Jamie Langfield.

Taken from the Daily Record