Rheingau XI 0-6 Hearts: Hearts thrash German minnows

Published Date: 24 July 2008
By JAMES LITTLE
AT RHEINGAU STADION
Rheingau XI 0
Hearts 6
Ksnavicius (5), Berra (11), Zaliukas (18), Kingston (43pen), Stewart (57), Makela (59)
HEARTS opened their pre-season tour of Germany with a resounding victory against a regional select in Geisenheim.

Czaba Laszlo's side fielded a virtually different team in each half with Lee Wallace being the only man to play the entire 90 minutes due to a rib injury sustained by David Obua, the Ugandan who is waiting for work permit clearance to sign for Hearts, in training earlier in the day.

Hearts started brightly with Kingston shooting just over from 20 yards following good work on the left from Andrew Driver, and it was the left-winger who laid on the opening goal soon after when his ball into the box fell kindly for Audrius Ksanavicius, who struck a firm left footed shot past the goalkeeper.

The second goal arrived after just 11 minutes when teenage striker Gary Glen nodded a corner on from the left and captain Christophe Berra ran on to the flick to finish.

Another corner after 18 minutes lead to the third when Ksanavicius' inswinger from the right was bulleted low into the net by the head of Marius Zaliukas.

The 18-year-old Glen looked intent on continuing where he left off last season as he continued to give positive glimpses of his potential. First a cross from the right was glanced just wide of goal by David Templeton, then a he saw a surging run and shot well saved by the goalkeeper.

With two minutes of the first half remaining and Hearts looking utterly dominant, Rheingau conceded a penalty as Ksanavicius was downed following some nice footwork. Laryea Kingston neatly converted the award into the left hand corner.

The second half saw the new-look, fresh-legged Hearts continue in the same vein with Michael Stewart at the centre of myriad forward forays. Stewart himself made it five when a David Cesnauskis shot was beaten out by the hosts' goalkeeper only for the former Scotland international to return the ball with interest into the roof of the net.

Finnish striker Juho Makela will be hoping for better fortune under new manager Laszlo and he put himself in the Hungarian's thoughts with a neat turn and volley from a Cesnauskis cross that finally wrapped up Hearts' stroll in the sun.

The result left the players with a smile on their faces which was exactly the mantra being preached prior to the game by Laszlo. The former Uganda manager is determined to lift the players' confidence while in Germany after admitting the squad looked "completely down" during his first week at the club.

"If you don't have passion in you and if you don't love your work then you cannot give anything to the other people," Laszlo told Hearts World. "If I go into the dressing room my adrenaline goes up. I want to show the people I like my job.

"If the people see the manager coming in the dressing room with wrong body language and not smiling and encouraging the players then he cannot show the right way.

"Everyone has a good or bad day but if I go in the dressing room I put all my problems to the side and concentrate on my job. Normally I am positive all the time.

"If you don't smile then you are losing the day. But If you don't have discipline off the field, you don't have discipline on the field," he added.

Hearts (first half): Banks; Karipidis, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace; Ksnavicius, Palazuelos, Kingston, Driver; Glen, Templeton.

Hearts (second half): MacDonald; Thomson, Ivaskevicius, McGowan, Wallace; Mikoliunas, Stewart, Jonsson, Cesnauskis; Makela, Mole.

Taken from the Scotsman