Bumpy ride awaits Hearts after Scottish Cup

As Heart of Midlothian exited the Homecoming Scottish Cup, albeit in controversial circumstances, the turbulence of their present position became ever more clear. A smattering of strong displays through the first half of the season masked the severity of their situation, but back-to-back defeats - against Hamilton Academical last week and Falkirk on Saturday - are evidence enough that a bumpy ride awaits the Edinburgh side through the rest of the campaign.

Hearts are seriously lacking in squad depth, nowhere more so than in attack. When the first-choice centre-forward, Christian Nade, failed a late fitness test, Csaba Laszlo, the manager, was forced to select Eggert Jonsson, usually deployed in defence, in his place. The versatile Iceland international lasted only an hour and, in that time, never looked like threatening the visitor’s goal.

In contrast, Falkirk, despite being outplayed by their hosts for large periods, benefited from the fact they possessed a natural marksman in their ranks. Steve Lovell made the telling impact when his header, from a Jackie McNamara cross, was judged to have crossed the line after deflecting off the underside of the crossbar.

The controversial nature of the goal enraged the home side, but, moments later, they were handed a lifeline - or so they thought - when Andrew Driver went down under a Dean Holden challenge and the referee, Dougie McDonald, pointed to the spot, only to retract his initial decision and signal for a corner instead. With blood boiling on both sides, it was only a matter of time before an explosion and it came late on when, first, Marius Zaliukas, of Hearts, was sent off, soon to be followed by Scott Arfield, of Falkirk.

Crucially for Hearts, Laszlo had no one to call on as the minutes ticked by and his side’s search for an equaliser became ever more desperate.

Robbie Neilson, the right-back made captain following Christophe Berra’s departure to Wolverhampton Wanderers, admitted Hearts have no choice but to make do with what they have. “We must stay positive,” Nielson said. “I thought Eggert did well up front today and he will have gained good experience. Fair enough, we did not bring anyone in when the window was open and we lost Christophe, but we have a good team here, more than capable of doing well in the league, and that’s our aim now.”

John Hughes, the Falkirk manager, however, was certainly more upbeat in his reaction to what was a rollicking Scottish Cup clash, reserving special praise for his former Hearts duo, Steven Pressley and Neil McCann. “We were spirited, resolute and every ball that came into the box met a Falkirk player’s head,” Hughes said. “I’m pleased for Steven and Neil, who came back to their old stomping ground and did well.”

Heart of Midlothian (4-4-1-1): J Balogh 6 - R Neilson 7, L Zaliukas 6, C Karipidis 6, L Wallace 6 - D Obua 6, B Aguiar 7, M Stewart 6, A Driver 7 - G Glen (sub: C Elli-ot, 66min 5) - E Jonsson 5 (sub: L Kingston, 61, 6).Substitutes not used: M Kello, J Thomson, A Mrowiec. Booked: Driver, Stewart. Sent off: Zaliukas.

Falkirk (4-4-2): D Mallo 6 - L Bullen 7, S Pressley 7, D Barr 7, J McNamara 6 (sub: P Cregg, 87) - S Arfield 6, A Riera 6 (sub: C Finnigan, 56 7), N McCann 6 (sub: B O’Brien, 87), D Holden 7 - S Lovell 8, M Higdon 7. Substitutes not used: R Olejnik, M Stewart. Booked: Arfield, Riera, Finnigan, McCann, Pressley, Higdon. Sent off: Arfield.

Referee: D McDonald. Attendance: 14,569

Taken from timesonline.co.uk