Hearts hero Rudi Skacel: Tynecastle treble could be perfect goodbye to Jambos fans

Jan 16 2012 by Colin Duncan

IT was a hat-trick from another planet and Rudi Skacel says it was all down to Hearts fans providing him with super powers.

The Czech midfielder hit arguably the best treble in SPL history on what may well be his farewell Tynecastle appearance for the Jambos.

Three sublime strikes from outside the area provided the backdrop to this victory for Paulo Sergio’s side who were down to 10 men just 11 minutes into an enthralling encounter.

Each of his three long-range goals was out of the top drawer and if this is to be Skacel’s final bow in a Hearts jersey then it will be long remembered by the 12,462 supporters at the match.

Even Frank Sinatra would have struggled to conjure up such an amazing goodbye.

Skacel’s deal runs out at the end of the month and with Hearts not at Tynecastle again until February 5, he was aware this could be his last opportunity to impress the home support.

He said: “I wanted to give the fans a treat. They have been so supportive of me and gave me special powers to score three goals. I could not have had a better farewell and if it is to be goodbye then it was nice to go out on a high.”

Skacel’s hat-trick helped Hearts to a fifth win in six games and saw them leapfrog Motherwell into third spot in the SPL.

But it also provided the 32-year-old with the perfect bargaining chip ahead of talks this week over his contract.

He said: “I will speak to the club this week and hopefully we can extend my deal for another five months.”

Hearts have recovered well after a dire run of results which coincided with the non-payment of player wages.

But while the pay ordeal initially led to dressing-room in-fighting, Skacel feels it might help bring the players together in the second half of the season.

He said: “It was a tough time but for me it was not a big deal because in Europe this is normal.

“I wanted it sorted quickly as I didn’t want players worrying about money before Christmas.

“But there seems to be more fight in the team now and I hope the trouble is behind us.”

A mesmerising match began in scintillating fashion. Hearts went ahead after just 51 seconds when Marius Zaliukas met Ian Black’s corner to bullet a header past Craig Samson.

But within 10 minutes the Hearts skipper had gone from hero to zero. A through ball from Kenny McLean saw Paul McGowan get on the wrong side of the Lithuanian inside the area and when the playmaker was tripped as he went to shoot, there was only one option open to referee Steven McLean.

Zaliukas was sent off and McGowan made no mistake from the spot before being booked for gesturing to the home fans as he celebrated.

Saints then went ahead in 18 minutes when Adrian Mrowiec was caught napping as Marc McAusland centred and Steven Thompson, below right, sent a header from the edge of the area over Marian Kello.

Four minutes later Hearts were back on level terms when Skacel opened his account, lashing in a ferocious shot from 25 yards.

The visitors were angry as they felt the Czech had barged Graham Carey as he prepared to shoot. And although they had a point, it was wrong for a host of them to stop on the assumption the ref would blow his whistle.

While Skacel lit up what was a terrific advert for Scottish football, unfortunately his distasteful side also came to the fore.

There was a snide dig at McGowan and just before the break when Carey was writhing on the deck after being clattered by Jamie Hamill, Skacel made a point of high-fiving his team-mate. It was in poor taste.

Back to the positives and just after the hour mark Skacel again took advantage of some desperate defending.

Saints skipper Lee Mair failed to close him down just outside the area and Skacel sent a half volley into the bottom corner.

And five minutes later it was 4-2 when the midfielder skipped away from David Barron and hit a low shot past Samson.

St Mirren’s misery was complete in injury time when Jeroen Tesselaar played a passback to Samson, who, for reasons known only to himself, picked the ball up.

Black tapped the indirect free-kick to John Sutton who shot through a ruck of defenders on the line to end the scoring.

Taken from the Daily Record