Passing judgment

THE search for solutions goes on.

One goal in five SPL matches, just one point earned in that time; suddenly Paulo Sergio's contention that remaining in the top six should be the ceiling of Hearts' ambitions is becoming more and more prescient. This defeat allowed both victors Dundee United and St Johnstone to move above them and, instead of casting ambitious glances at third – or even second – the Gorgie side are now peering nervously over their shoulder at Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.

The reason is glaringly obvious. Hearts could still be playing as you read this, scurrying around a desolate Tynecastle pitch amid the discarded plastic cups and sweetie wrappers, trying to score the goal that has eluded them in their past two league matches. With new signing Craig Beattie restricted to a half-time cameo, Stephen Elliott was left to toil alone at the tip of an impotent attack and spurned the only two openings he had. United, conversely, created four chances and scored twice as they won a fifth consecutive game against Hearts.

Profligacy was not Hearts' only problem, though. For all that they enjoyed the territorial ascendancy, they were utterly bereft of guile. That is not to say that they did not trouble Dusan Pernis, with the goalkeeper forced to field drives from Rudi Skacel, Scott Robinson and Ian Black, as well as smother from Elliott when the striker latched on to David Obua's knockdown and paw a dangerous Jamie Hamill delivery from under his crossbar. However, all of that came amid a frantic opening quarter, Hearts beginning with the sort of energy that was sorely absent in defeat to Motherwell last weekend.

Sergio had attributed that performance to a surfeit of games and vowed that a week of preparation would eradicate any such lethargy and, certainly, his side were sharper in the tackle and quicker to press yesterday even if they demonstrated too many familiar flaws. Granted, their cause was not aided by the injuries that forced Black and Marius Zaliukas off, but there remained a hesitancy about their passing, indecision in defence and an utter lack of conviction in their set-plays.

Robbie Neilson had to head off the line after Elliott circumvented Pernis and there were half-hearted penalty claims when Danny Grainger tumbled under pressure from Willo Flood, but Hearts were always likely to forge one clear opening and so it proved. Suso Santana cleaved open the United defence with a clever pass to leave Skacel with only Pernis to beat and, although the goalkeeper blocked, the ball fell to Elliott no more than a couple of yards out. Yet, somehow, Gavin Gunning was able to slide in and block.

"Set-pieces belong to the game, too, and we were poor offensively and defensively from them, but all the rest was Hearts," bemoaned Sergio. "We lost four players in January, were missing another three and lost two in the game – that's too many."

United's ambitions are growing, but to suggest they were any better than average would be an exaggeration. As Peter Houston roared at Johnny Russell in the minutes before the striker was removed, it was easy to forget the coruscating performance that overwhelmed Kilmarnock in midweek, but this game showed another side to his team.

Three clean sheets in four matches had imbued a previously porous defence with confidence and they diligently dealt with whatever Hearts could muster, while utilising the pace of Russell and Gary Mackay-Steven to break. "We are always a threat going forward, but we've shut the door at the back, too," said Houston.

The absence of the suspended Paul Dixon could explain the lack of scoring opportunities created by the visitors, given that the left-back leads the SPL assist charts this season, but Barry Douglas proved a capable deputy, defensively and in attack. Indeed, it was the former Queen's Park youngster's teasing free-kick that created United's goal just before the break, Gunning's movement in the box affording Jon Daly the space to nudge a 17th of the season beyond Jamie MacDonald.

Besides the goal, United rarely threatened. MacDonald thrust up an arm to divert a Gunning header from a Flood corner over the crossbar but the goalkeeper could do little with five minutes left when the Irish defender, magnificent throughout, rose highest again to meet a Mackay-Steven corner and thump a header high into the net.

As Tynecastle emptied, Gunning almost did it again but, by then, Hearts' misery had become entrenched.

Taken from the Herald