| Report Index--> 2010-11--> All for 20110101 | ||||
| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 01 Jan 2011 Hearts 1 Hibernian 0 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Scotsman ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Jim Jefferies 2nd | <-auth | Tom English | auth-> | Calum Murray |
| ----- | ||||
| 5 | of 012 | Kevin Kyle 86 | L SPL | H |
Hearts revel in a Kevin Kyle party piecePublished Date: 02 January 2011 By Tom English at Tynecastle Hearts 1 Kyle 86 Hibernian 0 The glory and despair of the Edinburgh derby - untrammelled joy at one end, utter despair at the other, Hearts whooping and hollering and Hibs slinking away in stunned silence. Deary me, Hearts are an unstoppable machine these days, amassing a points mountain in the rarefied air of the SPL's upper reaches. They have won eight of their last nine games and have four victories in a row against their old foes from the capital, all of them under the great redeemer, Jim Jefferies. They are now a mere three points off the top of the division and are good value for their lofty position. This was a win they richly deserved, even if they had to wait 86 minutes to get it. It was also the SPL at its best - a full house, a terrific atmosphere, a thunderous game in which Ian Black was briefly knocked out cold by Ian Murray's swinging arm as early as the eighth minute and a finale that electrified the place. It was Kevin Kyle who got the winner but he owed much to the efforts of Arvydas Novikovas, the substitute who eluded three men up the left wing before swinging over a gorgeous cross for Kyle to nut home. In that moment, Tynecastle's delirium was unconfined. Hearts had most of the big performers. Black, once he'd given himself a shake after Murray bashed him into next week, was a huge influence on the game in the centre of the park, as was Adrian Mrowiec. Behind them, Marius Zaliukas was a rock. Up front, Kyle didn't do a great deal but, when the big chance came, he was ready for it. Hibs bust a gut to keep Hearts out, they came here with a fury that we haven't seen from them for a while. Small comfort, perhaps. They were deservedly beaten, even though they gave their rivals a couple of scares when the game was tied and another when trailing, when Derek Riordan's shot appeared to hit Ismael Bouzid's hand in the penalty box a few minutes from the end. In fairness to Colin Calderwood, he never raised it as an issue in the aftermath and was particularly generous to the hosts while praising his own players' commitment. The man must be troubled inside, though. He's been in charge for 11 games now and Hibs have won just two of them. They are winless in their last six. They are now an eye-watering 23 points behind their city rivals. As a contest, the traffic headed just one way for large parts of a day that began with that swinging arm from Murray. There were two deeply fortunate men involved in that incident. Black was lucky that he didn't have his face rearranged by Murray, who in turn was lucky not to receive a straight red. In mitigation, the referee was perhaps blind-sided when it happened, but there were two linesmen out there, and neither had a word in their colleague's ear. Murray escaped and the tone was set. Poor Black. When his senses returned, only four minutes passed before he was the target of another foul, Liam Miller going into him his studs all too high. Not long after, Miller clattered into him again and got booked. Clearly, Calderwood had roused his boys before kick-off, ordering them that no backward step should be taken out there while possibly slipping some angry pills into their tea. Of course, Hearts weren't exactly going to lie down and take a kicking. Not a chance. They started snapping into the tackles in quick order and could easily have had a man of their own dismissed when Mrowiec, a fine enforcer in the centre of the park, started putting it about with gusto. He nailed a couple of Hibs men and was lucky enough to see only a yellow card rather than a red. Rudi Skacel was a constant presence on the ball, firing in shots from distance, driving in crosses that had a bit of danger about them, carrying himself like a player who was relishing the battle. Hearts created decent chances as the game wore on. In the early minutes of the second half, Calum Elliot almost turned in a shot from close range, then Zaliukas had a header cleared off the line by Steven Thicot. Just after that, Skacel's free-kick was tipped on to the crossbar by the ever-busy Mark Brown. As it went on, though, Hibs fought their way into it. A Riordan free-kick and a flick-on from Colin Nish almost saw Francis Dickoh score at the back post, a prelude to a glorious chance for Nish, sent free by a sublime cross-field pass from Riordan. The big striker was through one-on-one but pulled his effort wide. Things had gotten frantic now, opportunities being created all over the place. Gary Glen missed a huge chance with five minutes left to play, but was rescued from his purgatory when Novikovas sprinted past Thicot, Dickoh and Murray up the left before putting in the decisive cross for Kyle. Cue mayhem at Tynecastle and cue angst down the Hibs end as Riordan was denied a penalty. All that remained thereafter was the riotous celebration of the home fans.  Taken from the Scotsman |
||||
| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 01 Jan 2011 Hearts 1 Hibernian 0 | Team-> | Page-> |
| 