Marius Zaliukas's misfortune hurts Hearts as St Mirren earn replay

Scottish Cup 2011-12
Hearts 2

Beattie 37,
Skacel 48

St Mirren 2

Carey 27,
Zaliukas (og) 84

Ewan Murray at Tynecastle
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 10 March 2012 15.25 GMT
Article history

Craig Beattie scores the first goal for Hearts against St Mirren
Craig Beattie scores the first goal for Hearts in the 2-2 draw with St Mirren in their Scottish Cup quarter-final. Photograph: Lynne Cameron/PA

Given a sense of negativity can often seem to engulf Scottish football, it is only fair to hand out credit where it is due

This was a gripping cup tie, worthy of the live television billing it received and a welcome diversion from constant debate about fiscal matters at the other end of the M8. An exit from the Scottish Cup would all but end either of these teams' season, a matter only endorsed by the toe-to-toe manner of this match. There were even smatterings of controversy.

Hearts will be sore about conceding the 2-1 advantage over St Mirren they held with just six minutes remaining. Yet such sentiment belies the visitors' opening to the game, amid which they could class themselves as unfortunate not to be at least three goals ahead.

In proving the Scottish Cup retains a sense of occasion and importance, Hearts roused themselves to dominate their own spell before a Marius Zaliukas own goal ensured the teams must play this quarter-final all over again.

If Hearts are to claim the cup, they seem determined to do it the hard way. A scrappy win over non-league Auchinleck Talbot was followed by an extra-time win over St Johnstone. Now Paulo Sergio's team face a testing trip to Paisley on Wednesday week.

"We have to believe we are ready to go there and fight to go through to the next round," said the Hearts manager. "I believe we can do it and I think the players believe that too."

Steven Thompson had already wasted a fine opportunity to send St Mirren in front by the time they were denied a decent penalty claim. For that, Danny Grainger seemed to handle Gary Teale's shot. Paul McGowan and Nigel Hasselbaink passed up further St Mirren chances before the clock had even reached 12 minutes. The St Mirren manager, Danny Lennon, later hailed his players' start as "exceptional."

Sergio concurred. "In the first 30 minutes, St Mirren were the best team I had seen at Tynecastle all season," he insisted.

Hearts' response came via Andrew Driver, who had an effort smartly saved by Craig Samson. The winger is due credit; had Driver tumbled under a challenge from Lee Mair rather than had an attempt on goal, he may well have won a penalty.

Another set-play, a free-kick, triggered the opening goal St Mirren fully merited. Hearts' Adrian Mrowiec scandalously passed the ball straight to Hasselbaink, with Andy Webster subsequently adjudged – harshly, it must be said – to have fouled the forward 19 yards from goal.

Graham Carey, something of an expert in such situations, exploited a gap in the Hearts wall to curl home a low finish. It was that intervention which properly awoke Hearts. Craig Beattie, in his first start for the club, headed a Grainger corner past Samson. Only a dreadful act of officialdom denied Beattie another goal before the interval; the forward did not even seem close to offside when an errant Gary Cheyne flag deemed otherwise.

Sergio had withdrawn the hapless Mrowiec and replaced him with Rudi Skacel, a player who specialises in goals against St Mirren. And so it proved once again, the Czech heading in Beattie's cross to edge Hearts in front.

Only an excellent Jim Goodwin tackle prevented Skacel from an almost certain brace moments later. As Beattie blasted over from 16 yards, it was Hearts who had reasonable cause to rue a lack of ruthlessness.

That duly came back to haunt them. There was an element of farce about the fourth goal of the encounter, with Teale's shot scrambled towards Hasselbaink.

The Dutchman claimed he was trying to score despite an impossible angle; in any case, the ball took a crucial deflection off Zaliukas, the Hearts captain, to stun the home support. Sergio complained at the time about a tug on his midfielder Ian Black in the build-up to the equaliser, although the manager refused to dwell on that afterwards. Hearts, instead, now a hazardous replay to occupy their thoughts.

Taken from the Guardian/Observer