Hearts given a bumpy ride after taking the high road

chris tait at caledonian stadium

18 Apr 2011

6' 1-0 Adam Rooney is released by Lee Cox and his delivery is diverted in by Aaron Doran.

45' Stuart Duff hooks a shot from Rudi Skacel off the line.

53 1-1 Hesitation among the hosts is exploited by Suso Santana, whose cross is rolled in by Stephen Elliott.

78' RED CARD Ross Tokely receives a second yellow following a robust tackle on David Templeton.

THERE was little for Hearts to enjoy about their trip to the Highlands. The Edinburgh side were made to feel uncomfortable throughout and by the end they were irked to acquire only one solitary point. It was also exactly what they needed.

The Tynecastle outfit have been afflicted by a malaise of late, a feeling which has manifested itself in a run of only one win in their previous seven matches. The cause of such impoverished form was the lack of any perceivable threat; their position in third place in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League looking safeguarded by an extensive gap that had left Dundee United languishing somewhere safely out of view. Or so it had appeared.

The Tannadice side have, though, set about reducing that gap – there are now only nine points between the two sides – with United to play their game in hand against Rangers tomorrow. Hearts, then, are not home and dry yet. This intensive encounter with Inverness should be seen as something of a benefit to their ambition of remaining in third place after the split.

Hearts had started in much the same lethargic manner which has affected their recent performances. The midfield ambled around devoid of any real vigour, while the forward pairing of Stephen Elliott and Ryan Stevenson waited patiently for any sign of the ball. It wasn't long before their melancholy was ruptured by a series of impudent provocations from the home side.

The first was abrupt – Aaron Doran cushioned a volley past Jamie MacDonald – while Hearts were goaded further by abrasive challenges and incisive attacking play. It was a discomfiting, and entirely unexpected, imposition for the visitors, and one which riled them enough to respond in kind. "We didn't really turn up in the first half," said Stevenson. "We knew we had to buck our ideas up and fortunately we did that."

Their ire saw Elliott score not long after the break to provide Hearts with a fresh impetus but Jim Jefferies, the Tynecastle manager, and supporters will have been more impressed with their renewed appetite to compete. It was Inverness who ensured they were not left with much of a choice.

A draw last weekend had aborted hopes of sneaking into the top six, yet the Highland side played with such veracious intent you would have thought Terry Butcher had neglected to inform his squad. The Inverness manager kept the facade going with a typically passionate display on the touchline, while Ross Tokely took it all a little too far when he was sent off late on.

"The word of the day was 'desire' and that's what the manager talked about," said striker Richie Foran. "Desire, hunger and attitude, we had that in abundance. If we can keep that going for our last six games we will finish seventh. We want to do that to help attract good players for next season and it is also for our pride that we want to finish in the top seven."

Taken from the Herald