Bore draw leaves Jambos on verge of basement fixtures

Plucky Falkirk came here for a point, and they got it. An appalling season looks to have plumbed new depths, with Hearts on the verge of losing their status as the only non-Old Firm side to record an ever present feature in the top six split. There were hardly any chances on a day where the Jambos could have played until midnight and not made the net bulge.

Four changes from the draw at St Mirren - Stewart, Zaliukas, Cesnauskis and that man Larry Kingston all made the starting eleven, with our Ghanian international pushing up front to support Calum Elliot.

It was clear from the opening passages of play that Falkirk were set up to deny Hearts any space. Hunting in packs, they covered every blade of grass to close down any creativity. They would have been happier than their hosts that the first ten minutes were largely uneventful.

Lee Wallace comes away with the ball

Until the tenth minute that is, when a catastrophically short cross-defence pass from ex-Jambo Kenny Milne was seized upon by Elliot. Calum had a free run at goal - though Barr was back quickly - and he really should have played in Kingston for a certain opener. But he elected to shoot and it was easily blocked.

A couple of poor touches from Zaliukas got the hackles up amongst the home support, and things weren't made much better in the 14th minute when Cesnauskis was forced off with an injury. Ksnavicius was his replacement.

Another poor crossfield ball from the Bairns meant Olejnik had to race out of his box to intercept Miko. Our winger got there first and his effort was blocked by the goalkeeper, to enormous shouts of handball from the crowd. In truth, and we say this without the benefit of a replay, it looked like it struck his head.

Ruben Palazuelos

Scott Arfield completed a nice move from Falkirk by dipping a decent effort across goal, one which didn't overly concern Banks. Finnigan followed this up by shooting straight into the Englishman's arms, following a pacy Bairns break from the edge of their own penalty area.

The best move of the game from Hearts came on 41 minutes when excellent twists and turns from Miko enabled him to cross for Ksnavicius to volley at goal. It was blocked, and Audrius then teed up Stewart for a volley outside the box, which trickled wide of target.

So, phenomenally uneventful, although Hearts had picked things up in the last five minutes of the first period. It was, nonetheless, Falkirk who threatened initially in the opening few minutes of the second half, McBride having all the time he needed to pick his spot and shoot from outside the box. Thankfully his spot was high above the bar, but Steve Banks would not have been impressed at the room afforded to the Falkirk number six.

Laryea Kingston battles for the ball

Falkirk were now controlling the game, Hearts didn't look like they could do anything to take back dominance. Kenny Milne blasted over when he had time to pick his spot and fire home. An hour gone and things looked desperate. Jamie Mole was introduced for Elliot, but still Falkirk looked comfortable.

Ksanvicius must have been told to flick the ball on at every opportunity because that's what he was doing, even when he should have been holding it up. Nobody doubted his commitment, especially as he chased a ball he lost and won it back through two crunching tackles, but like the rest of the side, he was flat, and Falkirk were dealing with everything thrown at them on their terms.

Stewart's attempted overhead kick was well meant but way off target. And just like that, three minutes of injury time were up. Hearts never looked like conceding today but as the team who had to win, they didn't look like scoring. No shots on target, from either side. We don't want to say it's over, but there's little evidence to hope.

Hearts: Banks; Neilson, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace; Mikoliunas, Stewart, Palazuelos, Cesnauskis (Ksnavicius, 14) Kingston (Screpis, 89), Elliot (Mole, 65). Booked: Zaliukas. Subs not used: Basso, Tall, Jonsson, Thomson.

Falkirk: Olejnik; Ross, Barr, Milne, Scobie, Cregg, Aafjes, McBride (Riera, 80), Arfield, Barrett, Finnigan (Moutinho, 71). Booked: Aafjes, Scobie. Subs not used:Supple, Latapy, Clarke, Mitchell, Moffat.

Referee: Charlie Richmond

Hearts World