Templeton at the double to spark Hearts into life

Published Date: 08 July 2011
By Alex Schweitzer Thompson
IN BERLIN
In the sleepy dormitory town of Ludwigsfelde, roughly ten kilometres to the south of German Capital Berlin, it took almost an hour for Hearts to hit their stride in a pre-season friendly against their battling semi-professional hosts last night.
Their hosts, Ludwigsfelder FC, were recently relegated to the sixth tier of football in this country but provided the type of stiff resistance that was welcomed by Jim Jefferies as his team step up their preparations for an SPL season that begins in little over a fortnight.

The tourists' goalkeeper Marian Kello was a last-minute replacement for Jamie MacDonald, who had been earmarked to start before reporting a tightness in his groin, but the Slovak was a mere spectator for the vast majority of the match.

Kello's outfield team-mates fashioned numerous goalscoring opportunities - "We could have nearly been in double figures if we had taken all the chances," said Jefferies afterwards - but found local goalkeeper Toni Erne in defiant form and their own players short of sharpness in the opposition penalty area.

Two days before, Hearts beat East Fife 3-0 at Methil, and the root causes of a relatively comfortable victory were eerily similar in a 4-0 romp here at the modest Waldstadion: Danny Grainger striking his second long-range free-kick in three days, and David Templeton stepping off the bench to bewilder and bamboozle with an assorted array of flicks and tricks. Templeton continued the cavalier approach borne of the type of enthusiasm instilled by a new season and hit a second-half double, the latter goal worth the modest admission charge and a toast with some celebratory beers from the pitchside vendor.

Ryan Stevenson's inventive clipped shot over a ruck of defenders from the edge of the penalty area in the 12th minute almost removed any edginess among the visiting players and the few Hearts fans in attendance, but Heiko Bengs headed the effort off the line.

Arvydas Novikovas has, like Templeton, used pre-season games to showcase effectively the ability he possesses to add a directness and craft to Hearts' attacking play. If the pair are able to maintain such exciting form, uninhibited by the added pressure that comes with competitive games, Andy Driver would seem far from certain to regain his starting role on the flank once he returns from injury.

Novikovas twice paved a path to goal for centre back Andy Webster in the opening 20 minutes, first swinging in a corner that the Scotland defender powered over the crossbar, then crossing for Darren Barr to flick on to the far post only for Webster to slice wide.

The onslaught continued, and Scott Robinson's drive from 25 yards crashed off the left-hand post, the ball rebounding onto the back of the grounded goalkeeper Erne before ricocheting narrowly wide of goal.

"You come to these games and they're not going to make it easy for you," reflected Jefferies. "You have to grind them down, and that's what happened. We should have been up the first half. I thought we were a bit sloppy at times, took too long to pass it.

"The second half was a big improvement and we started to pass it better. They get tired and you can cash in."

Grainger added weight to his growing reputation as a dead ball specialist ten minutes into the second period. David Obua's rangey, unpredictable style as he loped forward drew a somewhat inevitable foul on the edge of the penalty area, and Grainger stepped up to curl a central 20-yard free-kick round the wall and past Erne.

Hearts doubled their lead within ten minutes with Templeton's skill surpassing even Grainger's composed finish. With little movement ahead as he looked for options 25 yards from goal, near the right-hand touchline, Templeton must have been the only person in the ground with the vision and ability to spot Erne a couple of yards off his line and executed the deftest of lofted shots, sending the ball into the far corner of the goal.

It would be impossible to feel unaffected by Templeton's on-field joie de vivre, and Mehdi Taouil appeared similarly keen to use his considerable capacity for creativity to make in impact. The Moroccan midfielder fed Gordon Smith after wriggling free of his marker on 70 minutes, and Smith shielded the ball with the experience of a seasoned striker before turning and chipping the ball narrowly over the crossbar.

Smith's strength and resistance caused more problems for the Ludwigsfelder backline moments later, the lofty youngster drawing a foul on the edge of the box. Grainger took charge of the free kick, but this time hit the outside of the right-hand post with a low, driven shot.

Half-time replacement Jason Holt, although slight in build, overpowered his German counterpart in a 50-50 challenge inside the box on 84 minutes, the ball breaking for Taouil, who calmly lifted it over the advancing Erne to make the score 3-0.

With four minutes remaining, Templeton remained unnerved as a loose defensive header fell to him on the edge of the penalty area, and he hooked a controlled left-foot volley from 20 yards into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

"They were better than we were expecting," said Jefferies of the opposition. "You want a wee workout and they gave us that. They made it awkward for us - they were tireless, they were big boys.

You could see they were aggressive in the tackle. That's what you want - you've got to move the ball or you'll get caught. That's what pre-season games are all about: finding your touch, your range of passing. Some was good, some not so good. It's a good exercise for everybody to get a touch of the ball, get the passing going."

Hearts will complete their Berlin mini break with a match at Bundesliga 2 club Union Berlin tomorrow afternoon, with friendlies against Cowdenbeath, Livingston and Royal Antwerp concluding their pre-season schedule ahead of a trip to Ibrox for their opening SPL game against Rangers.

Ludwigsfelder FC: Erne, Bengs, Heinrich, Blondzik, Neuendorf, Kowalski, Bartusch, Schwager, Binerbay, Rowis, Hass, Ruprich, Idler, Ferreira.

Hearts: Kello; Grainger, Zaliukas (R McGowan 46), Webster (Mrowiec 46), Barr; Novikovas (Wallace 70), Robinson (Templeton 46), Obua (Holt 60), Hamill; Stevenson (Taouil 56), Sutton (Smith 46)

Taken from the Scotsman