Self-inflicted wounds leave Hearts in trouble for Edinburgh derby

Alan Pattullo
HEARTS proved once again how the stresses of Christmas can act to frazzle the senses. Once again, those most hurt by the fall-out are themselves, and they prepare to meet Hibernian on Saturday without half of their first-choice back four.
Lee Wallace and Marius Zaliukas, sent off at Aberdeen on Saturday, can anticipate longer bans too – both have already been sent off this season, and have therefore contributed four of the club's seven red cards during the present campaign. They also have a shared history of sour experiences during the festive period. On Friday it will be a year since Hearts finished a match with eight players, with Zaliukas and Wallace joined prematurely in the dressing-room by Michael Stewart during their side's 4-1 defeat at Dundee United.

The Tynecastle club accrued a £30,000 fine for last season's disciplinary problems, when the team racked up nine red cards. They were told this record must improve by January, or else a further fine of £10,000 will be imposed. After Saturday's events it will be difficult for the SFA disciplinary department to conclude that an improvement has indeed been apparent.

Wallace can have little complaint after a fracas in the tunnel after the game cost him his place in the team against Hibs. Zaliukas at least committed his sins when on the field of play in a match which crackled like bracken throughout. Lee Miller's sublime volleyed finish after 36 minutes brought Aberdeen a fourth consecutive victory. But it is the less edifying episodes which caught the attention, particularly since so much remained unclear after the final whistle, and remains so even now.

Zaliukas was yellow-carded during the first half for the kind of gesture which sickens fellow professionals. Following a rash challenge from Darren Mackie, he motioned for the referee to card him. Iain Brines didn't require Zaliukas' guidance, and would have booked Mackie anyway. The Hearts defender got a booking as well for good measure, and his later red card, for an off-the-ball incident, was viewed as a slice of poetic justice by Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood.

"People asking for yellow cards has nothing to do with Scottish football whatsoever," he said. "He (Brines] did well in giving the boy a yellow card. It then turned into a red card. Players have to look at themselves. If my player had done that he would have been fined."

The mayhem continued at the end, when a put-upon Aberdeen away dressing door was again pummelled. Terry Butcher once booted it in an era when Aberdeen meetings with Rangers were regarded as explosive match-ups. Hearts appear now to have become the required ingredient for combustible encounters so far as the Pittodrie side are concerned. Witness their last meeting at Tynecastle, when jostling players were joined on the park by a wild-eyed Csaba Laszlo after the final whistle.

As then, there were some grounds for complaint here for Hearts. Christophe Berra, their impressive captain, walked a tightrope after his fascinating battle with Miller saw him cautioned for a meagre offence early on. That Berra was quickly penalised for a number of challenges afterwards might normally have alerted Laszlo. The Hearts manager is not averse to taking preventative action, having removed Christian Nade and Laryea Kingston for their own good in his side's two previous matches, against Dundee United and Celtic.

The incident which finally ended Zaliukas' involvement on Saturday was the sort which must make a manager want to weep, and yet which Laszlo was strangely reluctant to condemn. Already on a booking, Zaliukas jostled off the ball with Andrew Considine and was shown a straight red after 73 minutes. Nade, too, was cautioned, for something even more innocuous. But Zaliukas has previous when it comes to wrestling at corners, and could have been cannier at a time when Hearts were struggling manfully to get back into the game.

With Hearts having forced successive corners, Aberdeen found themselves under pressure for the first time since the opening ten minutes of the match. Before Stewart had time to connect boot with ball at the second of these awards, Zaliukas was invited to take a long walk – and it was long, considering the incident occurred in the far penalty area, and the location of the Pittodrie tunnel at the other end of the park. Zaliukas had plenty of time to contemplate his preferred seat in the main stand when Hibs come to Gorgie this weekend.

Laszlo was another with things on his mind, although by the time he met with reporters afterwards he had opted for the liberal approach.

"I am sorry to lose Wallace and Zaliukas," he said. "I don't think at the moment I will punish the players. They are human, and you have emotion. They didn't kick anybody on the field. But this is life."

Asked about his thoughts on the match, he issued the type of response expected from those occupying seats in the crowded home stands: "Fantastic," he smiled.

Taken from the Scotsman