Velicka brace sees Hearts leapfrog rivals

Gretna 0

THE uninhibitable Andrius Velicka rose to the fore once again on Saturday with two goals to propel Hearts above Hibs in the SPL table for the first time this season.
Velicka dispatched a left-footed finish and a right-footed penalty past Gretna goalkeeper Greg Fleming, his 13th and 14th goals of the campaign. Hibs' lunchtime draw at Tannadice presented their city rivals with the opportunity to move from ninth to eight place, and the potent Lithuanian duly obliged.

Gretna finished with ten men after Danny Hall's ordering off for two bookable offences, but that couldn't detract from an impressive home performance. Hearts have now secured three successive league victories for the first time since October 2006, all complemented by clean sheets for goalkeeper Steve Banks.

Against a visiting side containing several new loan signings from England, the opportunity to overhaul Hibs would have been uppermost in the minds of Stephen Frail and his charges. It was a chance the hosts were resolved not to pass up, and as such they began purposefully amidst an expectant atmosphere.

Sixty seconds in, Velicka fastened onto Christos Karipidis' clearing header to home in on Fleming's goal. He rounded the goalkeeper but, from an acute angle, could only find the side netting. The Lithuanian had only moments to wait for his 13th goal of an increasingly impressive season, though. Collecting Michael Stewart's pass, he angled an expert left-footed finish high beyond Fleming from an inside-left position, calming any Hearts nerves in the process.

Kenny Deuchar nodded over the crossbar after 14 minutes from Gavin Skelton's cross, a reminder to Frail's side of the threat posed by the league's bottom club.

Hearts resumed their dominance as Fleming reacted sprightly to tip Karipidis' header to safety following Andy Driver's precise cross. The former Livingston goalkeeper then repelled Ruben Palazuelos' venomous drive before Driver lofted the ball into the Roseburn Stand having been teed up by Audrius Ksanavicius.

Four minutes from half-time, Gretna signed their own death warrant. Ksanavicius slid a pass into Velicka, who was cruelly cut down by an erratic tackle from Hall. Hearts' top goalscorer waited for referee Charlie Richmond to administer a yellow card to the offender before driving the penalty through Fleming into the net. Vladimir Romanov would be well advised to dismiss all interest in this most prolific of strikers.

The borderers offered precious little threat throughout the second half, resulting in an increasingly exasperated David Irons pacing the away technical area. Mickael Buscher did sting Banks' palms from a tight angle on 59 minutes, however any hope they harboured of troubling Hearts was extinguised with Hall's dismissal shortly before the hour mark.

He was guilty of a quite unforgiving challenge on Ksanavicius 20 yards from goal which earned a second caution. Gretna's discipline threatened to disintegrate seconds later as Irons and central defender Chris Innes engaged in a heated argument from distance.

Hearts might have increased their advanage through substitute Saulius Mikoliunas, who ended an instinctive breaking move by clipping his left-footed shot at the advancing Fleming. The winger was then involved in a penalty appeal when falling under Innes' challenge but Richmond remained im
passive.

For once, accusations of profligacy could be aimed at Velicka for dragging an 83rd-minute shot wide when one-on-one with Fleming. But the striker's work for the afternoon was done, earning his club another critical three points and facilitating the climb above Hibs.

Hearts (4-4-1-1): Banks; Neilson, Karipidis, Berra, Goncalves; Cesnauskis, Stewart, Palazuelos, Driver; Ksanavicius; Velicka. Subs: Basso, Wallace, Elliot 77 (for Ksanavicius), Zaliukas, Mikoliunas 71 (for Cesnauskis), Beniusis, McCann 84 (for Stewart).

Gretna (4-4-1-1): Fleming; Hall, Innes, Collin, Naughton; Griffiths, Murray, Skelton, Buscher; Kissock; Deuchar. Subs: Krysiak, Barr 23 (for Collin), McGill, Deverdics, Wilkinson 78 (for Murray), Meynell 59 (for Griffiths), Makinwa.

Attendance: 16,130

Referee: Charlie Richmond.

Taken from the Scotsman