Hearts 2 Gretna 0

Striker Andrius Velicka extended his rich vein of scoring form with both goals as Hearts beat Gretna in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League for the first time.

After 1-1 draws at Tynecastle and Fir Park earlier this season, Velicka made sure Hearts would not slip up this time.

The Lithuanian took his tally to 14 goals for the season as Hearts continued their march up the table, leapfrogging their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian after a third successive league win.

Velicka scored his first in the third minute with a clinical strike inside the box and notched his second from the penalty spot three minutes before the break.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the second half after defender Danny Hall, who was booked after felling Velicka for the penalty, was cautioned again.

Hearts should have been ahead after just one minute when Velicka beat the offside trap to meet Audrius Ksanavicius' piercing pass.

After rounding goalkeeper Greg Fleming, however, he found the side-netting from a tight angle.

But he did not waste his next chance as the hosts stormed into the lead.

After some patient build-up play in defence, Michael Stewart slid the ball through to Velicka and his left-footed strike from an angle inside the box found the top corner.

Hearts continued to press the shaky Gretna rearguard and Stewart was picked out on the edge of the box by Velicka but could not get any power on his effort with team-mate Ksanavicius getting in his way.

Gretna had their hosts panicking from a corner in the 14th minute which ended with Kenny Deuchar heading over from close range.

The match slumped into a low tempo affair bereft of real quality, with Gretna offering little in the final third.

Hearts looked the more likely team to find the net again and came close in the 25th minute when Andy Driver's cross from a short-corner found Christos Karipidis whose header was pushed over by Fleming.

Four minutes later, Ruben Palazuelos drilled a low shot from the edge of the box which saw Fleming get down to his right.

The visitors had a chance to test Hearts goalkeeper Steve Banks 10 minutes before the interval with a free-kick 25 yards from goal, but John Paul Kissock blasted wide.

Hearts doubled their lead in the 42nd minute when Velicka scored his second from the penalty spot, finding the corner of the net.

The striker was felled by Hall after getting on the end of a pass from Ksanavicius.

Hearts continued to look threatening after the break and Driver went close in the 50th minute.

The winger beat Chris Innes for pace as he ran past the defender on the edge of the box but his shot missed the target.

Gretna then created a decent chance in the 59th minute when Mickael Buscher turned Jose Goncalves before drilling an effort at Banks from close range which the goalkeeper did well to block.

Gretna's problems were compounded in the 64th minute when Hall was sent off after receiving his second booking for a blatant foul on Ksanavicius just outside the area.

Hearts substitute Saulius Mikoliunas nearly made an immediate impact after coming off the bench for countryman Cesnauskis but was denied by Fleming after collecting Driver's pass.

The home side felt aggrieved at not being awarded their second penalty of the day after Mikoliunas ran through on goal and was crowded out in the box.

Referee Charlie Richmond pointed for a corner kick instead of the penalty spot.

Velicka then missed a chance to complete his hat-trick after he fired wide from a tight angle, before Mikoliunas saw his shot from close range blocked by Fleming.

Velicka thought he had completed a treble towards the end but the assistant referee cut short his celebrations as he flagged for offside.

Teams:

Hearts Banks, Neilson, Karipidis, Berra, Goncalves,Cesnauskis (Mikoliunas 70), Stewart (McCann 84), Palazuelos, Driver, Velicka, Ksanavicius (Elliot 77).

Subs Not Used: Basso, Wallace, Zaliukas, Beniusis.

Goals: Velicka 3, 42 pen.

Gretna Fleming, Hall, Collin (Barr 22), Innes, Naughton, Griffiths (Meynell 59), Murray (Wilkinson 77), Skelton, Buscher, Deuchar, Kissock.

Subs Not Used: Krysiak, McGill, Deverdics, Makinwa.

Sent Off: Hall (65).

Booked: Hall, Meynell, Naughton.

Att: 16,138

Ref: C Richmond (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com