Hearts make point thanks to gamble

Published Date: 04 January 2010
By BARRY ANDERSON
IT was, to employ a cliché, the perfect time to score. Seconds from the interval at Easter Road, 18-year-old Gordon Smith connected perfectly with Ruben Palazuelos' cross to mark his SPL debut with a goal and accord Hearts a priceless advantage in the Edinburgh derby.
Csaba Laszlo's gamble had paid off in spectacular fashion.

Anthony Stokes' second-half equaliser restored parity in a contest which ebbed and flowed without being engrossingly entertaining, but Laszlo exited the stadium bearing a look of satisfaction. He stated pre-match that a point was the minimum Hearts desired from this trip across the Capital, and his players delivered. None more so than Smith, thrown into the Easter Road cauldron with just 51 minutes of first-team action to call his own since joining from Livingston last summer.

The teenager had ambled around for most of the first half without making any impact on proceedings whatsoever. Then, when Palazuelos angled a cross into the penalty box, he arced his body to execute a precise left-foot finish beyond the debuting Hibernian goalkeeper, Graeme Smith. As Smith's parents danced with joy amongst the 3,800 travelling supporters, their son milked his moment. Few could begrudge him the adulation.

Laszlo certainly wouldn't have. Smith's only two appearances, as substitute against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League qualifier and against Dunfermline in the Co-operative Cup, made him a relatively unknown quantity to Hibernian. How the unpredictability paid off.

"I was happy Gordon Smith scored. I think it's a second Christmas for him," smiled Laszlo, who also introduced Lithuanian Marius Cinikas to the SPL for the first time yesterday despite him arriving on loan from FBK Kaunas back in August. "Smith got a gift from his parents now he has a gift from himself. He is from Edinburgh and he has a very nice beginning to the New Year. He could have scored earlier but he came too late for Michael Stewart's ball. He played 60 minutes but he had a lot of problems in the game. He lost too many easy balls. He had quality for the goal and this is fantastic. He is 18 years old and he can make a lot of mistakes."

Smith's goal ended what was a tight first half with neither side given licence to practise any flowing football. The chance created by Stewart for Smith was Hearts' only genuine opening prior to the teenager's strike, while Anthony Stokes missed a one-on-one at the opposite end. The second half began with the visitors determined to protect their advantage. However, just nine minutes after the restart, Stokes easily evaded the attentions of Marius Zaliukas to head the equaliser.

Two minutes later both teams were reduced to ten men as Ruben Palazuelos and Darren McCormack were dismissed for head-butting one another in an off-the-ball altercation. The sight of Palazuelos attempting to confront McCormack as the players left the field emphasised the emotions that often characterise Edinburgh derbies. Hearts are expected to discipline Palazuelos with a fine.

"The referee did a normal job. He gave two red cards," said Laszlo. "I am always angry if a player gets a red card for indiscipline. Even if you are provoked you must keep cool, especially in a derby. It was an unlucky moment for both players. You can accuse the Hibernian player, you can accuse Ruben, but we don't close our eye in the club internally. Ruben is normally a very disciplined player. He doesn't lose his head in the game, I don't know what happened. I don't want to defend him but we will talk about this.

"I was not angry about the Hibernian player, I was angry about Ruben. Both were punished by the referee. I told Ruben to calm down because it was finished. It is our responsibility to show the player what is the right way. Managers must have the ability to calm a player down."

In a positive context the red cards succeeded in opening the game up and the second half, while not quite dripping with quality, was considerably more entertaining than the first. Hearts attacked impressively in search of a winner, while Hibernian's pace on the break was a continual danger. Cinikas was well positioned to deny Riordan virtually on the Hearts goal line, while Ian Black's late volley stung the palms of Smith.

By full-time, both teams seemed content with a point apiece. "I think it was a typical derby," continued Laszlo, whose team are now unbeaten in five matches. "We got confidence from the last few games. My team tried to do what we talked about in the first 20 minutes, then for the last 20 minutes of the first half we lost our shape. I was angry about this.

"In the second half we were better, more dangerous. The harmony between Bouzid and Zaliukas was better than in the first half. The cross from Riordan they did not account for very well, they went too deep and one mistake can cost you."

Smith's goal did not mask Laszlo's need for a new forward, and the Hungarian remains a huge admirer of Stokes. "You see why Stokes was on my list in the summer," he said, before turning his attention to his own players.

"Michael Stewart showed he was a good captain, he has the quality to decide a game like this. For this you need confidence. Scott Robinson told me on Saturday he is not so confident so I told him to stay at home. For us to be better we must have the team. We have a lot of young promising players but they need guidance."

Laszlo admitted that there has been no final decision taken on Steven MacLean and Izale McLeod, the strikers who trained at Riccarton last week. The manager would like to agree loan deals for both players with their respective clubs, Plymouth Argyle and Charlton Athletic, and negotiations will continue.

Taken from the Scotsman