Young Hearts run free

AT THE fag end of an underachieving season, two young players lit up Tynecastle. Gary Glen, an 18-year-old striker, scored his second goal on his second start to win the game for Hearts.

Then, some 11 minutes later, with just seconds of the game remaining, Stevie Frail sent on Hearts' youngest ever player in a competitive game. Scott Robinson, another front man, was 16 years, one month and 14 days yesterday. It was a token appearance, but hopefully the young man will have a more auspicious career than the previous record holder, Alan Redpath in 1983. Exactly.

Glen and Robinson were merciful diversions on an afternoon that provided sunshine but no heat. The home crowd seemed exhausted by the club's internal turmoil and were muted. Before Glen's goal, their only real moment of animation came five minutes before the goal when Frail sent on Marius Zaliukas, a defender, to replace Calum Elliot instead of young Robinson whose debut had all but been announced by the stadium presenter prior to the game.
advertisement

After the game, Frail spoke highly of Glen. "If he carries on the way he's going, I can see no reason why he won't be a big hero for Hearts," said the caretaker manager. "We've known for a while how good he is."

Inverness Caley, having won their previous two games, made little effort aside from a phase late in the first half, to win a third. Manager Craig Brewster said he expected Romanian Marius Niculae to still be at the club next season, but much recharging of the batteries, and new ones added, is the only conclusion to be drawn from this performance.

With Hearts having a youthful look throughout, there was plenty of early promise down the left, where Jose Goncalves and Saulius Mikoliunas were supplying the ammunition. Glen, whose first goal came against St Mirren, couldn't quite get a touch to the second of such moves, but it was an encouraging start by the home side.

Inverness had put a miserable run behind them, but, apart from a Barry Wilson shot which went wide, there was precious little evidence of their continuing revival in the opening 25 minutes. They looked flat, and it was Hearts who continued to press.

Some 20 minutes into the match, Hearts came closest to scoring when, following a corner on the right, Christos Karipidas' header rattled against the bar above Michael Fraser. Seconds later, Deividas Cesnauskis and Jason Thomson combined to set up a chance for Glen, but the young striker only succeeded in blasting the ball over the bar.

Although the conditions were blustery, it was just plain ineptitude which prevented Hearts taking the lead. This time Glen set up Cesnauskis, but he completely mis-kicked in front of goal.

That miss finally prompted some Inverness action and unexpectedly, if briefly, made Steve Banks a very busy man. The Englishman returned to the side against St Mirren after Anthony Basso was dropped on the owner's orders, and he soon had ample opportunities to show his worth.

The first such occasion arrived just after Ruben Palazuelos had brought Marius Niculae down 20 yards out. Don Cowie hit a well-struck free kick wide of the wall, but Banks stretched to his left to turn the ball round for a corner.

The initiative was now with Brewster's side, and twice in as many minutes his central defender, David Proctor, came close to putting Inverness ahead.

Banks saved his first header, but could only watch later as another hit his bar. Then it was the turn of Dennis Wyness to test Banks after he was cleverly put in by Doug Imrie, but again the Hearts keeper was up to it.

When the second half got underway, it was again the home side who started the better. Frail brought on Lee Wallace early to replace Cesnauskis, and when the ball fell to him at the back post, he squandered a great opportunity to score, even if Fraser made a fine block.

That, though, was as nothing to Wallace's poor decision making when, after Christophe Berra had earlier nodded a header wide, the substitute was put behind the defence by Cesnauskis. The left midfielder advanced on Fraser, but instead of pulling the trigger at close range, inexplicably chose to try to square fruitlessly to Glen.

Once again the visitors had failed to make an impression, but there was to be no recovery in this period. Palazuelos tested Fraser with a 25-yard shot before, with ten minutes remaining, playing a one-two with Glen, allowing the young striker to score at Tynecastle for the second Saturday running.

Frail allowed the game to run down and the two minutes of extra time to get underway before finally giving the crowd what it wanted - Hearts' youngest ever player in a competitive match. Robinson was lucky to get a touch - a header - but it's impressions that count.

Hearts substitutes: Wallace for Cesnauskis 51, Zaliukas for Elliot 75, Robinson for Glen 90 Not used: Ridgers, Ivaskevicius, Screpis, Rapnik Booked: Thomson 50, Mikoliunas 69 Inverness CT substitutes: Bayne for Wyness 63, Paatelainen for Wilson 71, McAllister for Niculae 82 Not used: Malkowski, Black, Kerr, Vigurs Booked: McBain 88 Referee: D McDonald Att: 15,423

Taken from the Sunday Herald