Game for a laugh down Gorgie way

Saturday's victory brought a continuance of this theme as Hearts dispatched Gretna back to their romantic outpost near the English border with consummate ease. But it was the fans' reactions – one in particular – which demonstrated how tension is easing with each passing victory.

Gorgie natives have spent the bulk of this season bemoaning lacklustre displays from their side, with some often woeful officiating hardly helping their malevolent demeanour.

So when referee Charlie Richmond awarded a 42nd-minute penalty for a foul on Andrius Velicka, granting the Lithuanian the opportunity to score his second goal of an impressive display, sarcastic cynicism immediately took effect in the stands.

One fan in section N turned to address the press box. "Wahey, we've achully goat a penalty," he exclaimed with no little hint of contempt. "Noo watch the ref book Velicka jist incase he wiz cheatin'." Outstanding wit, but a point well made at the same time.

Richmond, of course, rightly cautioned the offending Danny Hall for his tackle on Velicka and would later dismiss the defender for a late lunge on Audrius Ksanavicius.

Velicka drove the penalty beyond Greg Fleming to supplement his earlier opening goal and allow home supporters a welcome chance to recline in their seats knowing victory was all but ensured. Caretaker manager Stephen Frail also has more of a spring in his step these days and spoke of his satisfaction on various levels.

Defeating Gretna brought a third consecutive league victory for the first time since October 2006 as well as a third successive SPL clean sheet. But perhaps supporters were in more jovial mood because they knew Hearts were usurping Hibs in the process.

"It's another place we move up," said Frail.

"Sometimes you need other results to influence where you finish and other results went for us on Saturday.

"We knew going into the game if we won we went above Hibs, it's just another wee tiny positive thing.

"We don't win anything for finishing above Hibs unless we finish above everyone else.

"I'm delighted we've moved up from being second bottom and we're now three points off sixth place.

"That's the aim at the minute, get into the top six and see how far we can go.

"We started in the right manner and should maybe have scored after 60 seconds. We got the first goal at a good time after three minutes.

"I'm just disappointed we never put away the other chances that we did create."

Frail added that his players are now approaching matches in the appropriate manner and applying themselves as expected. "That's the attitude I've had from them since things have been changed here. It's a fine line between winning and losing and the two cup games we lost had those fine lines.

"That's three clean sheets in the league, three wins and maximum points so we just need to try and keep this going and get as many points as we can."

Once again, Velicka's finishing proved clinical. With a goal tally now standing at 14, he is gradually edging towards being the first Hearts striker to score 20 goals in a season since John Robertson in 1991/92. And, but for a late offside flag, he would have claimed a hat-trick on Saturday.

"I thought he was offside, or it might have been Calum Elliot. I definitely think it was offside," admitted Frail.

"You can see what he puts into the game, he's a hard worker. He works like that every day in training.

" I actually thought his first chance (when he rounded Fleming after 60 seconds) was slightly easier than the one he put away from open play, but he's a real asset to us and he's playing really well at the moment.

"We had one or two other chances and it would have been good for Velicka to get the hat-trick, but overall I'm just delighted with the three points and another clean sheet. These are little positive things for us to keep building on."

As Velicka continues bulging rigging around the country, the natural progression is that expectations begin to rise. "Personally, I expect him to finish these things off now," said Robbie Neilson.

"If the ball is going to fall to anybody, you're hoping it's going to be Andrius. He's a great finisher.

"He's been great for us, scoring all these goals, and he's an integral part of the team.

"Anybody who comes in, it doesn't matter where you're from, if you're scoring goals then the fans will take to you. It's been a while since anyone scored 20 goals for us.

"He's on 14 now so hopefully he can get the 20 at least. It makes a big difference when you have somebody up there who, when he gets a chance, will take it.

"We probably should've scored more on Saturday. At 2-0, if they get a goal they're back in the game, but Andrius got our two and I thought his first one was a great finish."

Velicka's contribution was aided by another sterling defensive display from the Christos Karipidis-Christophe Berra partnership, plus impeccable midfield work throughout by Ruben Palazuelos. No-one at Tynecastle will allow themselves to get unduly carried away with this win given Gretna's lowly league standing, but Frail must recognise that the above-named players provide him with the spine of a resolute and
spirited team.

The positives for Hearts, naturally, translated as negatives for Gretna manager David Irons.

His team offered little by way of an attacking threat and only sporadic flurries from the on-loan John-Paul Kissock roused the tiny pocket of travelling fans gathered in Tynecastle's Roseburn Stand.

Despite their ineffectiveness, though, Irons still harboured a grievance over the final outcome. "We lost an early goal which didn't allow us to get a foothold in the game. Despite that, we created some good chances," he said.

"The second goal killed us, it was poor defensively.

"After that, I thought the sending-off was harsh. Hall has been booked twice for two tackles."

Life can be tough in the relegation zone, as Hearts know. But Tynecastle regulars with smiles on their faces and humour in their minds can continue to look up the SPL table rather than down.

Taken from the Scotsman