Hearts 0 Kilmarnock 2

By Hugh Keevins

YOU go to Edinburgh to get away from the conspiracy capital of the world and what happens? There's a fall-out over a referee, a disputed red card and the suggestion that a manager should stand up to authority and see if it alters their attitude towards him.

In other words, everything you get at the other end of the M8 is available in the shadow of where First Minister Alex Salmond will attempt to get to the bottom of the Old Firm's difficulty with each other later this week.

The problem Mixu Paatelainen has with Alexei Eremenko at Kilmarnock is that genius can be flawed and this player's extravagant talents are accompanied by a hair-trigger temper.

The Finnish midfielder does, though, have the support of team-mate Manuel Pascali who chipped in with the observation that even Jesus couldn't put up with the abuse his gifted team-mate takes on a weekly basis.

But Eremenko's red card at Tynecastle was delivered as a result of an appointment system for match officials that's also imperfect.

What's the point in having the man some consider to be Scotland's top referee, Craig Thomson, acting as fourth official while an inexperienced whistler handles the game? Eremenko and Hearts' Marius Zaliukas were involved in a scuffle with 17 minutes still to play that could have been settled by two yellow cards.

However, referee Steven McLean dispatched the Finn and then let David Templeton off with a booking for raising his hands and shoving Eremenko.

The referee then had to be reminded by Thompson that he should take some form of action against the Hearts player.

Templeton got a booking where a red card might have been more appropriate under the letter of the law.

Paatelainen believes that happened because he's been too tolerant of referees in public, so now he might drop diplomacy to see if hostility gets him an even break further down the line.

Heard all of this before somewhere? All that was missing was a statement from Lothian and Borders Police.

The match itself could be summarised by saying Hearts were outplayed and might have lost by more. Killie, meanwhile, have now been deprived of the player who rises above the ordinary and elevates his team to a higher level in the process. A one-match automatic suspension for Eremenko therefore lessens their chances of getting anything from next Sunday's game against Rangers.

Paatelainen said: "The man who starts something is the one who's most guilty." Which means he felt his player was more sinned against than sinner.

Pascali, meanwhile, reached for the bible to defend his team-mate. He said: "Alexei would need the patience of Jesus not to react to some of the treatment he gets.

"He's different class as a player and people go in hard on him for that reason. I don't know why he had to go off and the Hearts players didn't.

"Opposition players know the best way to get to Alexei is to wind him up but that's normal in football. If you wanted to stop Barcelona you'd target Lionel Messi, wouldn't you ?" Pacali's not above seeking retribution himself but his targets are those people who wrote Kilmarnock off at the start of the season and said they'd be in a relegation dogfight.

And he's going to take great delight in proving them wrong. He said: "How many times in Kilmarnock's history have they come to Tynecastle and scored five goals without losing any in successive matches against Hearts? "This is our answer to those who said we had gone as a team. We were tipped to go down to the First Division and I don't forget that. We will speak again at the end of the season."

The man from Milan sounded like Don Corleone but the only offer he can't refuse is the opportunity to win a European place next season. He added: "We're pushing for Europe now and that's why we love football. One minute you're tipped for relegation, the next moment you're thinking about the Europa League."

Kilmarnock exhibited their road worthiness for the continent when after 50 minutes David Silva cut through Hearts' defence for their opening goal after a forgettable first half. Then, six minutes later, Eremenko swept in a ball from the impressive teenager William Gros to leave Hearts with no prospect of a comeback.

You know it's going to be your day when your mistakes go unpunished and Kilmarnock deserved to ride their luck on occasion. They played at a tempo and with a sense of purpose that was terrific to watch.

Hearts' boss Jim Jefferies said before the game that the Old Firm's special brand of mayhem and madness might concern the police and scare the First Minister but it guaranteed an improved television contract.

You'd turn the box on to see this Kilmarnock team firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately for them, the star turn's now off the bill.

If you take the genius, you have to accept the madness that sometimes come with it.

Player ratings: Hearts v Kilmarnock

Mar 7 2011

HEARTS

Marian Kello 6

Well beaten at goals ... and it might have been worse.

Craig Thomson 6

Gave the ball away for Killie's first goal.

Ismael Bouzid 6

Found Kilmarnock's high tempo a lot to handle.

Marius Zaliukas 6

Should have gone off with Eremenko - and he knew it.

Eggert Jonsson 5

Found it all too much on an off day for Hearts.

David Templeton 6

Busy throughout but escaped after late trip on Kelly.

Adrian Mrowiec 5

Looked to have run out of ideas, like everyone else in maroon.

Suso Santana 6

Tireless worker going forward but no end product.

Ryan Stevenson 6

Put in cross for Templeton to hit the bar.

Rudi Skacel 5

Normally high profile but low key on this occasion.

Calum Elliot 5

Unable to get chances on target before going off.

Subs: Stephen Elliott - on for Stevenson but made no difference up front, 5. Gary Glen - replaced Elliot but as ineffective as the rest in attack, 5.

KILMARNOCK

Annsi Jaakola 6

One spill almost cost him dearly but otherwise secure.

Jamie Hamill 7

Defender worked his socks off - all over the park.

Manuel Pascali 7

Solid ball winner who didn't put a foot wrong.

Frazer Wright 7

Won everything, including his verbal battle with Santana.

Tim Clancy 7

Reliable display at full-back and never under threat.

Liam Kelly 7

Marvellous decoy run to set up Killie's first goal.

James Fowler 7

Kept up a high work-rate to subdue Hearts.

Alexei Eremenko 8

Lit up game until he crashed and burned in scuffle.

Craig Bryson 7

Captain led from front with his midfield promptings.

David Silva 7

Picked up on a mistake to punish Hearts with a goal.

William Gros 7

A strong, hard-running prospect of the highest order.

Subs: Rui Miguel - given a five-minute frolic in place of Gros, 5. Garry Hay - on at the very end for Silva to help

MEN WHO MATTER

JIM JEFFERIES

Knows his side will finish third at least in the league table this season and unfortunately for the boss the edge was off some of his players on a day when the absence of Kevin Kyle stuck out like a sore thumb. 6

MIXU PAATELAINEN

Finnish boss has introduced exceptional talents to a side that bears no resemblance to the one that required a 0-0 draw on the final day of the last campaign to preserve their status in Scotland's top flight. 8

VERDICT

A treat to watch if you were in the away end. The home supporters left the ground long before the end because they knew there was only one team in this contest.

MAN IN BLACK

Steven McLEAN got into a fankle when either three players should have gone off or the entire trio should have been booked. One man being singled out for dismissal was inaccurate. 5

Taken from the Daily Record