Hearts 0 - 2 Kilmarnock

He was dismissed for raising his hands to Marius Zaliukas after the Lithuanian grabbed him by the throat for fouling Templeton on 72 minutes. Zaliukas himself could easily have seen red for such an aggressive act but was instead only cautioned, as was Templeton for pushing Eremenko in the chest.

By full-time, there was little denying Kilmarnock deserved their win. They had been vastly outplayed in the first half as Hearts pressed and probed relentlessly but were repelled by a resistant visiting defence. In the second half, Kilmarnock opened up and placed more emphasis on attack and consequently found themselves 2-0 up just ten minutes after the interval. That proved sufficient to secure three points and issue Hearts with their first home league defeat since that aforementioned affair last year.

Kilmarnock's goalkeeper Annsi Kaakkola looked unconvincing throughout the first half having twice spilled catches and distributed the ball poorly from his goal. He was guilty of ceding possession and putting his team on the back foot. Their best moment of the opening 45 minutes came from a breakaway. Zaliukas was dispossessed and Eremenko quickly supplied Liam Kelly on the edge of the penalty area. His touch and shot soared into the Roseburn Stand, however.

Hearts immediately went back on the offensive and fashioned their best chance. Suso's cross prompted a looping header from Templeton which struck Kaakkola's crossbar and bounced to safety. That apart, there were precious few moments to note in a first period dominated largely by the hosts with Kilmarnock employing counter-attacking football.

Referee Steven McLean rejected penalty appeals from Hearts just two minutes into the second half, Templeton's effort at goal clearly striking the arm of James Fowler. Presumably, McLean saw no foul since the midfielder's hands were by his side. Seconds later the hosts fell behind.

A wayward pass from defence by Craig Thomson landed at Silva's feet and he set off towards the penalty area. An intelligent run by Liam Kelly created a gap in the Hearts defence as Eggert Jonsson was drawn to his man. That allowed Silva to jink away from the backtracking Zaliukas and deliver a powerful low finish into the corner of the net.

Silva then created another opening, this time for William Gros. He could only shoot tamely at Marian Kello but perseverance paid off when Eremenko struck Kilmarnock's second. It was a simple build-up as the talismanic Finnish internationalist supplied Gros, whose run and cross was converted first time by Eremenko six yards from goal. No-one tracked his run and ultimately the slackness, rarely a feature of Hearts' play this season, was punished.

Gros passed up an opportunity to score a third on the hour mark after scarpering onto Eremenko's beautifully time through ball. The subsequent shot whistled only marginally past Kello's right post.

Two down, Hearts had little option but to chase the game. Frazer Wright cleared Rudi Skacel's attempt and Jonsson headed over from a corner. Then frustrations began to show as the game erupted on 72 minutes. Eremenko's needless tackle on Templeton initiated the controversy. He was then confronted by Zaliukas, who grabbed the midfielder by the throat. Eremenko tried to shove the Lithuanian away before Templeton arrived to push Eremenko in the chest. A straight red card was shown to the Kilmarnock midfielder and yellows for both Zaliukas and Templeton. In truth, both Hearts players had to consider themselves fortunate not to be dismissed for raising their hands to an opponent.

Despite the extra man advantage, Hearts could not play their way through the opposition during the final stages of the match. They had only three minutes added time to help - a curious call given the lengthy delay at the sending off plus four substitutions. However Kilmarnock exited Tynecastle with a victory they thoroughly merited and left their former manager Jim Jefferies with some food for thought.

Hearts (4-3-3): Kello, Jonsson, Bouzid, Zaliukas, C Thomson; Stevenson (S Elliott 63), Skacel, Mrowiec; Suso, C Elliot (Glen 76), Templeton. Subs: MacDonald, Kucharski, Driver, Robinson, Prychynenko.

Kilmarnock: (4-1-4-1): Jaakkola; Hamill, Pascali, Wright, Clancy; Fowler; Kelly, Bryson, Eremenko, Silva (Hay 90); Gros (Miguel 86). Subs: Letheren, Agard, Laurant, Kennedy, Aubameyang.

Referee: Steven McLean.

Attendance: 13,936.

Taken from the Scotsman