Hearts move into fourth round

Published Date: 24 September 2009
By BARRY ANDERSON
THEY had to muster considerable mettle and guile to do so but Hearts advanced to the Co-operative Insurance Cup fourth round last night with a narrow victory over Dunfermline.
It is often said that progress counts more than performance in cup competitions and that was underlined on an uneasy evening for Csaba Laszlo's side.

Graham Bayne's 15th-minute opener arrived with Dunfermline in the ascendency and looking comfortably the more accomplished team. However, the hosts' revival after the interval included a Gary Glen header and a Michael Stewart penalty as they secured passage to the next round of the season's first knockout tournament.

Aberdeen and Hibs had both exited this competition the previous evening despite being favourites for their respective ties against Dundee and St Johnstone, therefore Hearts had plenty warning signs of the potential hazards against First Division opponents. They failed to heed them initially and fell behind but recovered to record a deserved victory on the balance of play. The visitors, for all their energetic start, looked considerably fatigued come full-time.

Ultimately, the game hinged on a disputed penalty. At 1-1, David Obua ghosted past Dunfermline's Neil McGregor before falling to the turf inside the penalty area. There was definite contact between the players as they went shoulder to shoulder and referee Brian Winter had no hesitation in awarding the penalty, which Stewart duly converted. Dunfermline players towered over the grounded Obua accusing him of diving but he was defended by his manager at full-time.

"I don't think he dived," remarked the Hungarian. "Before you talk in this direction you must watch the replays.

"I think maybe there were other possibilities for penalties in the game but if you lose the game you try to search for excuse.

"This is always so. I don't talk about the referee, I must look at what my team do and their performance."

Obua also pleaded his innocence. "I felt the contact," he said. "I just thought the ref had to give one penalty because we had two or three claims. The most important thing is we won the game and that's history now. It was shoulder to shoulder, it wasn't as if I was trying to cheat because I felt contact."

Not only did the Dunfermline manager Jim McIntyre disagree about the penalty, he revealed that full-back Callum Woods felt he was impeded by Obua in the lead-up to Glen's equaliser. "Callum's adamant it was a foul but I was desperate to get a substitution on before that," he said. "I said, (to the fourth official] 'let's do it, let's do it'. That's why I was so angry after the goal.

"The boys are adamant it's not a penalty at the second goal, they are saying the big guy's played for it. It was a poor pass that created it. I didn't think it was a penalty but I'd need to see it again if it was a barge or not. There was contact but the big guy's looking for it. Whether you say that's clever play or simulation, who knows? I'd need to see it again, it's not clear-cut."

Dunfermline relegated former Tynecastle cult heroes Andy Kirk and Austin McCann to the substitutes' bench which, in respect of the former, seemed a strange decision if they intended executing a cup upset. Hearts, who persisted with Ismael Bouzid in attack, conducted just one alteration from the side which lost narrowly at Celtic Park. The injured Andy Driver was replaced by Glen.

With a more convincing connection on Scott Muirhead's sixth-minute long throw, Greg Ross could have put Dunfermline ahead. Janos Balogh smothered his attempt and did likewise with Willie Gibson's ambitious long-range free-kick seven minutes later. However, the Hungarian looked culpable when the visitors scored on the quarter hour. A smooth passing move down the right flank saw Ross supply Bayne for a first-time finish which Balogh allowed to squirm beneath him. As the ball rolled tamely into the open net, it was difficult to avoid the notion that Dunfermline had earned their just desserts for a tenacious start.

Hearts gradually became more dominant as the first half progressed. They appealed for a penalty when Jose Goncalves and McGregor fell inside the penalty area, then followed harmless volleys from Obua and Marius Zaliukas. The Lithuanian did bulge the net on 35 minutes from Craig Thomson's free-kick but was penalised for offside after creeping in behind full-back Woods.

The half ended with Obua nodding Thomson's corner goalwards only to be denied by the presence of Bayne on the far post. The Ugandan returned the rebound powerfully but Greg Fleming, the Dunfermline goalkeeper, parried his shot as well as the subsequent ricochet off a defender.

Obua had been largely anonymous until then and the home support were becoming frustrated with his contribution. Hearts departed to a chorus of jeers and it was clear that the experimentation with Bouzid in attack had not transpired as planned. He returned to central defence for the second half with Goncalves shifting to left-back in place of the injured Lee Wallace, who was withdrawn for Ian Black.

There were more vociferous penalty claims seconds after the restart when Andy Dowie barged Suso off the ball, yet referee Winter allowed play to continue. Eventually the equaliser arrived, supplied by a rejuvenated Obua. He retrieved Bouzid's deep cross from the right ahead of Woods and delivered a precise cross for Glen to nod out of Fleming's reach.

Hearts' moments of consternation did not end there, however. Balogh repelled an effort from substitute Joe Cardle on 64 minutes but was then caught in no-man's land coming for a corner six minutes later. With their defence looking rather indecisive it was advisable for the hosts to impose themselves at the opposite end, which they promptly did. Obua, by now on top form, scampered on to a loose ball and sprinted directly towards the backpedalling McGregor. As he went past the defender he was eased off the ball and fell to the delightful sound of Winter's whistle awarding a penalty. Dunfermline claimed simulation but Stewart was unfazed as he produced an assured conversion from 12 yards.

Gordon Smith, having replaced Glen, was nudged by Ross when chasing a through ball ten minutes from time, which in truth looked a more blatant penalty than Obua's.

However, the match ended with a hilarious moment of impulsiveness from the colourful Laszlo. Frustrated at his team's inability to retain possession during the final minutes, he stood at the edge of his technical area awaiting a kickout from Balogh. When the ball bounced straight out of play from the goalkeeper, Laszlo executed a perfect volley towards the centre circle, his anger momentarily spilling over at a careless piece of distribution. It was the kind of instinctive and powerful strike he has demanded from his attacking players all season but it succeeded only in incurring the wrath of the match officials. Instantly realising his misdemeanour, he offered the fourth official a handshake, which was refused, before Winter arrived to administer a telling-off.

"You can't go out and just win against a lower division team," said Laszlo. "In the first 45 minutes some players were of the opinion that it's enough just to go out and we win the game. I think their goal was a good strike from the striker. I must look, Balogh had the ball and lost it out from his hand. After goal we had some good possession but we did not score. In the second half, we had more energy and power and the attitude was better and then we won the game.

"It was important to win for the club. For a long time we flew out of cup competitions and it was important to give something for the fans, to show we take this competition seriously. You can't go to the Europa League by winning it but prestige is important. It is good to be in the next round and to reach the final if it's possible.

"It's not only the league that's important, you have the Scottish Cup and this cup. The prestige is very important. The players must understand this is for Heart of Midlothian. In this town, Hibs flew out of the cup. After the Celtic game (on Sunday] this was the most important game.

"In football, sometimes you must accept a lot of things but I must give a compliment for the Dunfermline team. They played football and did not give up in a cup game. They did not stand 16 metres from their goal, they came to Tynecastle to play football. It is very interesting in the cup. Not always the better team or biggest team wins the game."

Laszlo added that Driver, Wallace and Glen all have a chance of facing Hamilton on Saturday. "Every game you have small injuries," he continued. "Driver told me after the Celtic game he had some problem with his knee. He has a small inflammation. This was prevention not giving him the chance to play. Maybe Saturday he will be okay. Lee Wallace is the same. He had a problem with his hip before and he does not have the ability for movement that he needs so I took him out. Gary Glen felt his knee so I took him out."

Taken from the Scotsman