Resolute Caley end Hearts' winning run of six matches

Published Date: 20 December 2010
By ALAN PATTULLO
at TYNECASTLE
FROM the first beats of Arcade Fire's Wake Up, the apt song to which Hearts now run out at Tynecastle, this was stirring, stirring stuff. "It was end to end - just at one end," was how Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager, summed it up. The description is not as barmy as it sounds.

However, while Hearts did indeed pin back Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the second half, the threat of a breakaway goal existed right up until the final seconds of time added on, with Russell Duncan given the chance to land the sucker punch to end all sucker punches.

He might even have played the ball wide to substitute Eric Odhiambo, who was racing down the right. But Hearts goalkeeper Marian Kello got down well for the ball after Duncan had opted to go for goal himself, and that all but concluded a highly enjoyable afternoon of football.

A rather heavy-handed foul by Richie Forlan right at the start of the match, which laid Kevin Kyle out flat, had seen the game begin on a sour note, but it was out of keeping with what followed. This was football in the raw, stripped bare of its inhibitions. It might have been good to watch, but, in the freezing conditions, it was surely better to be out there performing, and both sets of players could not be faulted for effort.

Just how far this Inverness side have come could be gauged by the reaction from the Hearts camp afterwards. While some Hearts fans exhibited slight disappointment at the outcome, Jefferies seemed to consider it a point won rather than two dropped. Considering Inverness don't lose away from home, or at least haven't for over a year now in the league, he is probably right to view it this way.

"I thought we battered Hearts today - absolutely," beamed Terry Butcher, aware of just how ridiculous this sounded. However, in a way they did.

Hearts must have felt like they had been bashing their heads against a brick wall by the end. It is not accurate to say Inverness came to Tynecastle to defend; they simply had no other option but to do this in the second half. Such is the tightness of the group that this played to their strengths.

With Inverness having gone a goal up inside the first 20 minutes, through a Grant Munro header, it was always asking a lot of Hearts to score twice, even if they did equalise within six minutes through Kyle's penalty.

The striker converted well after Stephen Elliott had been judged by referee Brian Winter to have been felled by goalkeeper Ryan Easson, after Kyle's headed knock down.

Hearts, however, could not make the additional breakthrough required to collect the three points. The central reason for this was Inverness' solidity in defence. Ross Tokely summed this department up. His sterling work at the back included a swift tribute to Butcher. A cut in his scalp saw his head swathed in a bandage, à la his manager when defending as if his life depended on it for England against Sweden in 1989. Asked about it later, Butcher was dismissive of his player's war wounds. "He only needed one stitch", he laughed. Tokely had come into the room by this stage and went on to reflect on a career spent with Inverness. He is a phenomenon, someone who you remember being given a chasing by Craig Bellamy one afternoon and yet who is still playing his heart out at the top level. He was outstanding on Saturday alongside Munro at the back, and, at 31, has years left in him.

"I joined as a raw teenager, just 17 years old," he said. "Everyone has written me off every year. The manager spoke to me in the summer and said it could be a challenge for me. I've certainly grasped it and I just love playing for Caley Thistle. It has been in my blood since I signed and I have gone through the divisions (with them].

"Caley Thistle are at their best when we're written off and fancied for relegation. We've come back stronger after a year in the First Division. Some young lads in there have just taken to the SPL in their stride and it's great to see them doing very well."

The likes of Adam Rooney and Jonny Hayes were not quite so bright on Saturday, but then Hearts, too, had their own outstanding performers at the back. Adrian Mrowiec dropped back into centre-half after Ismael Bouzid had picked up a knock early on, and simply reaffirmed why he has become one of Jefferies' first picks in recent weeks. In fact, the whole team is playing with a belief and confidence which stems from a familiarity with each other, and, perhaps most crucially, a desire to work for each other. Christian Nade would not fit into this Hearts team, put it that way.

"Our play was outstanding, as good a performance we've put in at home this season," said Jefferies. "We beat Hamilton one midweek and deserved to win the game, but we didn't play as well as we did today. I can't fault the players because they gave us everything. Their football was a joy to watch and their effort was great. The ball just wouldn't hit the back of the net."

Taken from the Scotsman