Four-star Hearts demolish under par visitors

By Moira Gordon at Tynecastle
Published on Sunday 18 December 2011 00:00

GIVEN everything that has been going on off the pitch, the meetings with the union and the board, the complaints lodged with the SPL and the transfer requests apparently pending, the start to this match was the perfect way for Hearts to numb the pain.

The day may not have started in harmonious mood for the home side, with the breakdown in the relationship between manager Paulo Sergio and winger Andrew Driver emerging as the latest issue. But on the field this was as carefree a performance as Hearts have enjoyed recently.

There were smiles on faces as Hearts put all that to one side and opened the scoring with just two minutes played. The goal came from a corner kick won by Stephen Elliott, and it was the same player who was on hand to make the most of the set piece. Delivered into the box it fell to the Irish striker just a couple of yards out and he side-footed it into Paul Gallagher's net.

But Dunfermline took a while to learn from that and the next two corners almost resulted in another two goals. First up was Ryan McGowan and then Marius Zaliukas as both defenders evaded their markers and latched on to Ian Black's deliveries.

The midfielder has been supplementing his wages with some painting and decorating jobs of late but if this win bonus ever materialises, at least he will played his part in earning it.

Along with Adrian Mrowiec, he provided the platform for the victory, keeping a grip on the midfield as David Templeton and Mehdi Taouil pressed up the flanks and Scott Robinson broke forward from in support of Elliott.

It resulted in Hearts' biggest win of the season thus far and while the visiting defence undoubtedly contributed, it was the Edinburgh side's creativity and determination to get forward in numbers which piled the pressure on the Pars.

Dunfermline were not inept going forward, though. They were dangerous from their own set pieces, and carving a route to goal was not the main issue, it's just that they were not as clinical or as fortunate as their hosts when they reached their destination. With the score still at 1-0 they beat the offside trap but with two men still in there, the ball evaded Andy Barrowman and fell to Alex Keddie, who screwed it across the face of goal and wide. "Right position, wrong player," admitted the defender afterwards.

Had that gone in it may have caused a few jitters but, instead, Hearts extended their lead, getting their second in the 26th minute. It was another moment for Dunfermline to rue. Ryan McGowan was the man who broke upfield from his full-back berth. He played in Taouil and although the midfielder found the target, it was a trundler and should have been saved.

No wonder Pars manager Jim McIntyre looked a frustrated figure on the sidelines. He knows it is individual mistakes which are costing his side and he also knows that it could cost them their SPL status if those errors can't be resolved. But while he is hoping that the board can give him some money to help strengthen his squad, he still believes that the current crop are under-performing and could turn it around without January reinforcements.

It will be tough on this evidence. Hearts breezed through this. Clicking in every department, they looked like they were enjoying their day when they added their third in the 70th minute. This time it was David Templeton, whose footwork and trickery on the edge of the box gave him the chance to curl the ball inside the far post for a lovely finish. It was the perfect riposte from the Hearts man after he had been felled in the box moments earlier and was denied what looked a stonewall penalty.

Dunfermline tried to juggle the formation and the personnel in a bid to quell the Hearts pressure but the quality and the belief was evident in the home side. Hearts also made some switches, with Rudi Skacel, Ryan Stevenson and Arvydas Novikovas replacing the goalscorers and it was Skacel who wrapped things up. Stevenson rifled a shot at goal and when the ball rebounded it was the Czech international who followed up, heading past Gallagher and clattering the keeper in the process.

It proved the last action of the match and sent Hearts fans home smiling for the first time in what seems like an age.

Taken from the Scotsman