Hearts 0-0 Dundee United

Gordon Waddell Reports

Laszlo Says He Was Right To Hook Star Premier League

CSABA LASZLO left Hearts without a striker for an hour - but still insists he was right to hook hotheaded hitman Christian Nade before he was sent off.

The Frenchman was lucky not to see red for a knee-high lunge on United full-back Paul Dixon half an hour into this clash of the SPL's form sides.

As soon as he escaped with a yellow, though, the Jambos boss subbed him instantly, stunning the striker and the stands as he sent on David Obua and played out long spells with a formation that bordered on 4-6-0.

With United stifling the game from the start, it killed pretty much any chance of the encounter living up to its billing as match of the day.

But Laszlo insisted: "A lot of people think I'm a nice guy, that I have understanding for everything, but I have no understanding for indiscipline.

"If the ref sees Christian's frustration, it will end up with a red card.

"So I have to protect my team and the other players.

"I talked with him and he understood. Okay, it meant we played sometimes without strikers but maybe we just don't have too many good strikers.

"We still created clear chances, we just didn't take them as we did against Rangers and Celtic.

"I thought this was a good game between two top teams though and good publicity for Scottish football."

That's debatable. The point about the teams is fair enough - Hearts are unbeaten in seven, the Arabs have lost just one in 14 in the SPL - but good publicity is a stretch.

United had switched back to the 4-5-1 they used to match up against Inverness two weeks ago, with the strict gameplan of stopping the Jambos doing what they're good at, pillaging on the break.

And it served the same purpose, turning the game into a midfield war zone.

But while the Arabs are usually the team piling the energy on, this time it was the Jambos who were pressing them all over the park.

All it did was turn what everyone was praying would be a belter into a serious helping of stodge.

No time to pass, no time to breathe, not an effort on goal until the 28th minute, and even then Celtic-bound Lukasz Zaluska could have made himself a coffee before saving Laryea Kingston's shot.

The biggest talking point of the half came three minutes later though when Nade clattered through Dixon right in front of the dugouts.

It should have been a red - and in a game that's seen 10 of them in the past five meetings, Laszlo saw the writing on the wall as soon as yellow was flashed.

That was the only explanation for hooking his lone striker seconds later, upsetting the Frenchman and the fans in equal measure.

Laszlo tried to put a consoling arm around his man, one that was shrugged off in disgust.

And meanwhile you have to ask if the Jambos boss wasn't cutting off his nose to spite his face by throwing Obua on and leaving himself without a recognised striker on the park.

Still, they rallied to produce the best two efforts of the half.

The first was a sensational pass from Kingston which eluded both Obua and Ruben Palazuelos at the back post, the second a great turn and shot from Andy Driver which flashed past.

United had to do something to break free. They were containing well but the big difference between here and two weeks ago at Inverness was that Craig Conway's delivery from the flanks wasn't getting past the first man.

Craig Levein's half-time team talk didn't improve matters much either.

Driver forced a great save from Zaluska down low, Garry Kenneth threw himself to block a Kingston shot that had goal written all over it, and Bruno Aguiar fed Obua a dream ball that the Ugandan bumbled right when he should have been drilling it home.

The only serious chance United had came from a Danny Swanson corner and the in-form Jon Daly will be kicking himself that he bulleted a free header wide after shaking off marker Robbie Neilson.

Still, both sides seemed content not to lose ground on the other and Hearts midfielder Palazuelos insisted: "We've not lost in seven games and they are a good team.

"Maybe it made a difference for us not having a striker but that's a question for the manager."

REF WATCH

WILLIE COLLUM produced another decent display. The game was bubbling away but the ref kept a firm grip on things and stopped any feuds erupting. He kept the yellows down to two and the drama to a minimum. Soft on Nade with just a booking though. Rating: 7/10

MATCH STATS

Shots on 7

Shots off 1

Offside 5

Fouls 12

Corners 6

Bookings 2

Shots on 1

Shots off 3

Offside 3

Fouls 11

Corners 5

Bookings 1

Taken from the Sunday Mail