Tense times at Tynecastle but Hearts deserve win

By Martin Hannan, at Tynecastle
Published on Monday 28 November 2011 02:28

THERE were times at Tynecastle on Saturday when the tension around the ground was palpable, and the roars when the two Hearts goals went in were as much of relief as joy.

In circumstances where an unknown number of first-team players have not been paid – again – and where the club’s owner is set to walk away on terms only he believes in, it was to the credit of all in maroon that they battled to a deserved victory gained by a fully-engaged second-half performance.

The loyal Hearts fans just want success for their club whose colours are nailed to the mast of a capricious former submarine commander who appears to view the world through a distorting periscope – how can he possibly think that selling the debt-ridden club and not paying people on time will motivate men to perform at their best?

So knowing the wages situation, the fans got behind their team, mostly, with the solidarity of people who appreciate that footballers are sometimes not pampered popinjays but hard workers.

Inverness certainly made it tough for Hearts in a robust but not dirty match, and if Andrew Shinnie’s early shot had found the net, or Gregory Tade had rounded Marian Kello instead of allowing the goalkeeper to make a fine save midway through the first-half, the result might well have been very different.

After a poor first-half devoid of attacking quality, Hearts took the lead from the restart, John Sutton’s deft flick putting Rudi Skacel into space for a finish of some style, a volley that flashed across goalkeeper Ryan Esson and into the bottom corner of the net.

Ross Tokely’s headed equaliser from a Jonny Hayes free-kick after 56 minutes was permitted by haphazard defending, and the same could be said of Hearts’ winner, headed home from bang in front of goal by Eggert Jonsson, who was able to rise unchallenged to meet David Templeton’s cross.

Inverness manager Terry Butcher said fairly that Hearts deserved to win because of their better second-half performance, before lambasting his players for their inconsistency.

Tade was one of the culprits, spoiling a decent enough display by failing to score as Inverness wasted several chances – “I’ll not sleep tonight because of that miss, and if that wasn’t frustration out there I don’t know what is.”

The 25-year-old Frenchman was upbeat, however, talking up his side’s chances of SPL survival even though they’re bottom of the league.

“I know what it’s like to be down there,” said Tade, “as I was at Forfar, where we were bottom of the league and we knew we didn’t have much chance in December.

“The dressing-room, the atmosphere round the club and the players, you know if you’re going to get the drop. Training is not the best, confidence is down, but at this club there are no signs like that at all.

“The way we play is not the way a relegation side plays. We just need to work harder and get results.

“I am not scared to say we are better than clubs above us. We will show that, I am sure of it.”

This Hearts side has plenty going for it. Kello made vital saves as usual, Ryan McGowan at left back made the fans forget Lee Wallace was ever there, Jonsson and Templeton were real dangers going forward, and Sutton’s hard work and incisive play will surely win him an extended run in the team.

What a pity events off the field detract from their fine performances.

Manager Paulo Sergio sat out the match in the stand as the result of his five-match ban, and nether he nor anybody from the club spoke to the media afterwards as Hearts continue their self-imposed silence which ludicrously targets the press and broadcasters when the club’s beef is with the SFA.

The club’s fans and the press have plenty questions to ask, such as does Vladimir Romanov really think Hearts are worth £50 million? Is he in any way serious that Tynecastle is worth £25 million? Has he not heard of the words ‘recession’ and ‘collapsing property values’? Is this recurrence of non-payment of players a glitch or a regular problem?

Is the club aware that all outstanding sums to players must be paid by December 31 each year or they will be in breach of Uefa and SFA club licence rules which could lead to expulsion from European football and the possible loss of their licence to operate next season?

Newspapers, like nature, abhor a vacuum, as club managing director David Southern, formerly a respected PR practitioner, will know.

With no-one talking, these questions and many more will be asked, feverish speculation will mount and the actual football will take a back seat. More’s the pity.

Taken from the Scotsman