Mediocrity takes over as Hearts miss their chance

Stuart Bathgate
GORDON Strachan suggested at the weekend that his team and Rangers had been unfairly criticised for the standard of football in their recent goalless draw, and watching this match, it was easy to conclude that the Celtic manager might well have a point. After all, if the Old Firm are mediocre, what does that make the rest of the SPL?
With the Glasgow giants showing signs of weakness, the time should be right for a team such as Hearts, Dundee United or Aberdeen – or indeed all three – to mount a credible challenge for second spot at least. Instead, those clubs have become beset by problems of their own, and none has yet managed to make the minimal improvement required to stake a serious claim for third.

Hearts remain in that best-of-the-rest spot which they attained by beating Aberdeen a week earlier, but they should have strengthened their hold on it by taking all three points against St Mirren. Instead, they will now lose it if they lose at Tannadice on Saturday.

They were never entirely on top against spirited opponents, but enjoyed dominant spells in either half which should have been enough for them to claim the win, even allowing for St Mirren's late fightback. Earlier in the season there was a run of games in which they did exactly that – eking out a victory by a narrow margin after taking the lead and desperately holding on to it. They have lost that knack for the moment, and need to regain it if they are to secure a European place.

Granted, the circumstances were difficult for Hearts on Saturday, as the loss of Christos Karipidis because of a virus meant that, with Marius Zaliukas suspended, they had to play an unfamiliar pairing of Robbie Neilson and Eggert Jonsson at centre-back. And, following a forgettable first half, they suffered a blow minutes into the second when Laryea Kingston, just on as a substitute for the concussed Gary Glen, himself got injured. Kingston was just back from Ghana after receiving treatment for a recurring hamstring strain, but the way he went down after the same muscle gave way suggested he should never have been passed fit to play. Without him and Glen, Hearts were unable to offer as much support to sole striker Christian Nade.

Having said that, the situation was not ideal for St Mirren either, as they took the field less than 42 hours after ending their previous game, the Scottish Cup replay win over Motherwell. But they refused to give up when they went behind, and earned a point in stoppage time.

The goal arose when a free-kick into the box was headed back across goal by Scott Cuthbert. With the Hearts defence at a standstill, Andy Dorman stole in and slid the ball under Janos Balogh from four yards.

Csaba Laszlo, the Hearts manager, blamed unnamed players for a lack of concentration, but also pointed out such a lapse would not have mattered had Saulius Mikoliunas put the home side two up just minutes earlier. Instead, the substitute sought a spectacular finish when a cross from David Obua found him in space, and his mis-hit shot went skidding harmlessly towards the right touchline. "I just tried to hit it first touch," he said. "But maybe I should have taken another touch."

There was no maybe about it. Mikoliunas had the time to bring the ball down and select his spot before dispatching it past Chris Smith in the St Mirren goal.

That costly miss came around ten minutes after Smith had been beaten for what turned out to be the only time that afternoon. A free-kick from the right by Bruno Aguiar went beyond the far post, and it required an acrobatic effort by Jonsson to keep it in play. Obua's cross was then met by Nade, and when the striker's shot was blocked, Jonsson was on hand to score from a few yards.

Hearts should have been able to close the game out from there, but the indomitable Dorman had other ideas. The 26-year-old has been linked with Bolton among others, but striker Jim Hamilton hopes St Mirren can hold on to him for a while yet. "There's not a lot of midfielders like him," he said. "He reminds me of Colin Cameron when I was at Hearts. He's definitely good enough (to play in England], but hopefully we'll keep him for as long as we can."

St Mirren's strong finish confounded those who thought they would be fatigued after playing just two days earlier, but they will not have indulged in self-congratulation for long. After appearing to have climbed to safety following four consecutive wins in December, they have yet to win in the league this year, and are now only six points ahead of a resurgent Inverness, buoyed by their new managerial duo of Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas.

Taken from the Scotsman