An old-school tie

David Friel

STANDING in the Tynecastle media room with his shirt hanging out, Nigel Hasselbaink resembled a naughty school-boy as he was told by his manager Danny Lennon to smarten himself up before answering any ques-tions.
inShare
St Mirren 's Jim Goodwin brings an attack by Hearts' Stephen Elliott to an abrupt end Photograph: Jeff Holmes/SNS
St Mirren 's Jim Goodwin brings an attack by Hearts' Stephen Elliott to an abrupt end Photograph: Jeff Holmes/SNS

However, the Dutchman had been St Mirren's star pupil in a Scottish Cup tie that will live long in the memory.

After a bleak week, this engrossing encounter helped lift the gloom enveloping our national game. It had everything. A late strike from Hasselbaink that found the net via the heel of Marius Zaliuklas forced a replay on Wednesday week and if it is anywhere near as good as this, we are in for a treat.

Lennon described the match as "hugely entertaining" while Hearts counterpart Paulo Sergio agreed it was "a classic".

Hasselbaink was a central character. He won the free kick that led to Graham Carey's opener and then fashioned St Mirren's second with the aid of the deflection off Zaliukas. In between, Craig Beattie and substitute Rudi Skacel scored for Hearts either side of the interval.

The Dutchman was in no mood to give up his strike although it was later officially put down as an own goal. "I tried to score so I am claiming it," he said, adding. "We deserved the equaliser and will be confident for the replay."

Lennon felt a draw was the least the Paisley club deserved and he had a point. They were outstanding for the first half hour and should have been at least three goals in front prior to Beattie netting on his Hearts starting debut.

"We were exceptional," the St Mirren manager said. "My only criticism is we were not ruthless enough. We should have capital-ised on our possession, but I'm still proud. They never gave up."

Sergio accepted the blame for flawed tactics in a one-sided opening, but offered praise for the way his team adapted. "For the first 30 minutes, St Mirren were the best team we have played at Tynecastle this season," the Portuguese said. "I have always said they are one of the best in Scotland and they showed that. In the second half, it was all Hearts."

In the early stages, St Mirren had a strong penalty claim turned down when Danny Grainger appeared to block a shot with his hand. Ryan McGowan sliced a volley wide and Hearts goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald foiled Hasselbaink after a surging run and shot by the 21-year-old. The visitors' domination was such that Hearts were forced to change their system, with Sergio breaking up the front pairing of Beattie and Stephen Elliott and adding an extra man to midfield.

The tinkering initially worked as Beattie headed wide under pressure and then worked a sublime one-two with Andrew Driver. Hurdling despairing challenges from Lee Mair and David van Zanten, the winger broke free on goal, but was denied by Craig Samson's block. St Mirren regained their composure and Carey again showcased his deadball prowess with the opener just before the half hour. Hasselbaink was fouled by Andy Webster 22 yards out and Carey whipped a free-kick into the corner through a gap in the Hearts wall.

Hearts conjured up a surprise equaliser after 37 minutes when Beattie met Grainger's driven corner and his front-post header flashed past the static Samson.

The striker was denied a second before half-time when he was wrongly flagged offside as he converted Ian Black's cross. "I haven't seen the replays, but I had loads of texts after the game saying I was well onside," Beattie said. "I gambled on the ball coming through from Ian and I thought I was onside. It's frustrating."

Elliott, twice, and McGowan missed chances before Skacel found the net three minutes into the second half with a glancing header from Beattie's cross. It was his ninth goal against St Mirren in two seasons. Lennon said: "What age is Skacel? Is he due to retire soon? I can't wait to see the back of him."

From being dominant, St Mirren were now hanging on. Jim Goodwin's tackle denied Skacel a certain second, then Beattie blazed over from the edge of the box. Hearts seemed fairly comfortable but there was a final twist with six minutes to go. Hasselbaink and McGowan carved the hosts open on the left and the former eventually squeezed in a shot from a narrow angle that led to the match ending all square.

Sergio felt a sense of injustice over a foul on Black in the lead-up to the goal "I don't want to talk about the referee's decisions, but you have a responsibility to write about them," he said with a mischievous smile.

Taken from the Herald