Lee Miller punishes Hearts indiscipline

Hearts seem determined to keep the Scottish FA’s disciplinary department as busy in the New Year as they did in 2008. Yet again a match between these two teams ended shrouded in controversy, as it had two months ago. Hearts defender Lee Wallace was called to referee Iain Brines’ room after the game and told he was being red-carded, to join teammate Marius Zaliukas who had earlier been sent off, and send the Edinburgh club’s red-card tally soaring to seven for the season. A glass panel was also smashed in the visitor’s dressing-room door.

Manager Csaba Laszlo revealed later that when Zaliukas was sent off, for a second yellow for getting involved in a penalty-box melee, he had actually been feuding with team-mate Christian Nade and then later claimed he had been joking. He added: “I won’t be fining any of them. They are young boys and no one was kicked.” But Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood hit out at Zaliukas, whom he accused of earlier trying to get striker Darren Mackie booked: “The referee handled a difficult game very well. A player asked for a yellow card in an incident which has no place in Scottish football. If any of my players had done that they would be fined.”

At the end, as in that October meeting at Tynecastle, the match exploded at the final whistle and Hearts defender Robbie Nielson was booked as a posse of visiting players, in their red and blue change strips, surrounded Brines. Aberdeen sub Chris Maguire was also booked.

Yet Hearts’ indiscipline should not overshadow Aberdeen’s victory. Their supporters turned their back on the telly, shunned the sales and turned up at Pittodrie to record the largest attendance this season of an amazing 18,021. Their team rewarded the fans with a sensational Lee Miller winner against his old team, and the bonus of the Dons’ best display of the season. This was Aberdeen’s first victory against a team in the top six this season and it puts them only a point behind fourth-placed Hearts, whose run of seven games without defeat came to a halt.

Sadly it took only ten seconds before the home side had to alter their formation, when Charlie Mulgrew was crocked in a clash with Nade. The defender came off worse, and after limping on the touchline for two minutes was replaced by Andrew Considine. Reshaped Aberdeen shrugged off that blow and should have taken the lead in nine minutes when Darren Mackie, running on to a through ball from Jeffrey de Visscher, wasted a chance when one-on-one with Janos Balogh. He sped through again in 14 minutes and Balogh, with a diving save, defied him for a second time. But in 35 minutes his strike partner Miller made no mistake. Scott Severin swung in a free kick, conceded by Hearts captain Christophe Berra, and Miller, totally unmarked, latched on to it to volley the ball past Balogh, who had no chance to stop the shot.

The keeper was in the firing line again in the second half when a paper cup was thrown at him from the home fans in the Richard Donald stand. However Balogh should have had more to worry him a minute later when Sone Aluko fired a perfect ball across the face of the goal and the inrushing Miller just failed to connect. The striker again failed to notch that elusive second when Balogh produced the save of the match in 70 minutes. A superb move started by Severin on the left set the striker racing in and although he hit the ball perfectly, the keeper flung himself to beat away the shot and keep his side in the game.

The game erupted in 73 minutes as Hearts, for once upfield in numbers, were awarded two successive corners and at the second any seasonal goodwill disappeared from Pittodrie. As players jostled each other in a packed penalty box, shoves were exchanged as referee Brines and his assistant Stuart Macaulay raced into the pack to separate the combatants. The fall-out resulted in a red card for Zaliukas, for his second bookable offence. There were also yellow cards for a striker on each side, Miller and Nade.

It was the home fans’ turn to roar their rage eight minutes from time when the referee turned down penalty pleas after Michael Stewart stopped Mackie. But they had more to smile about than frown yesterday.

Star man: Lee Miller (Aberdeen)

Yellow cards: Aberdeen: Mackie, Miller, Considine, Maguire Hearts: Berra, Zaliukas, Nade, Neilson.

Sent off: Zaliukas, Wallace.

Referee: I Brines.

Attendance: 18.021.

Aberdeen: Langfield 6, Foster 6, Diamond 7, Severin 7, Mulgrew 4 (Considine 3min, 5), De Visscher 6, Kerr 6, McDonald 6 (Mair 90min), Aluko 6 (Maguire 87min) , Mackie 7, Miller 8.

Hearts: Balogh 6, Neilson 6, Zaliukas 4, Berra 5, Wallace 6, Kingston 5 (Jonsson 77min), Stewart 6, Karipidis 5, Palazuelos 5, Driver 6, Nade 6 (Glen 77min).

Taken from timesonline.co.uk