Craig Beattie proving a heavyweight signing for Hearts

10:30PM GMT 11 Mar 2012

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Still, five years after he left Celtic to try his fortune in England, Craig Beattie has kept Hearts on course for a place in the semi-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup and, but for a faulty offside call in their 2-2 home draw with St Mirren on Saturday, he might already have berthed them in the last four.

The fact that Hearts can contemplate a quarter-final replay against St Mirren in Paisley a week on Wednesday has much to do with Beattie’s contribution in his second game for the club.

He was blowing steam midway through the second half but by then the chunky forward had equalised Saints’ opener – a tidy Graham Carey free-kick made easier by a goalkeeping error – and it was Beattie’s cross that supplied Rudi Skacel for Hearts’ second goal, just after the interval.

St Mirren’s late revival culminated in a Nigel Hasselbaink shot that clipped off Marius Zaliukas and spun behind Jamie MacDonald to guarantee the rematch, but Beattie addressed the prospect with his familiar breezy demeanour.

He had last started a match on Nov 29, when he scored in Watford’s 2-2 home draw with Bristol City, and he looked ring rusty for much of the first half-hour, although he was getting little in the way of encouragement from team-mates who were on the back foot for most of that period.
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"It's always good to get a goal for confidence. I feel like I can score any time I go on the pitch to be honest and I'm just looking to kick on now,” said the 28 year-old, who was released as a youth player with Rangers by Dick Advocaat. “It’s been so long since I played 90 minutes of competitive football.

"I'll still be judged despite not being up to speed but you're always judged, you've just got to deal with it. People are there to give opinions and we've got a job to do.

"We've got to go back to their place so a lot of people would say it's their advantage but I think we've learned a lot from today. They dominated and then we tinkered and got on top of them so maybe the advantage is with us because we know how to play against them.”

It was odd to see a player leading the line in a No 4 shirt, but for anybody joining a club at this stage of the season there are few bespoke options and Beattie confessed he had made an eccentric virtue of necessity. "When the kit man came out he told me what numbers were available - I think it was 14, 16 and 37, my old number at Celtic,” said Beattie.

“I thought, 'Do you know what, just give me number four'. James Beattie had obviously worn it and a few other forwards have worn random numbers.

“Zinedine Zidane wore No 5 so I thought I'd just go for it and see what happens. I got a bit of stick for it from a few of the lads but hopefully they'll take that back now because the No 4 has popped one in.”

Beattie’s powerfully headed goal, from a Danny Grainger corner kick eight minutes before the interval, was proof of Hearts’ resilience after a poor start. Each team misread the other’s intentions but Danny Lennon sprang the greater surprise in the early stages.

St Mirren had anticipated that Skacel – who scores against them almost by right – would start. With the Czech on the bench, however, Hearts were flat and baffled by St Mirren’s 4-5-1 formation in which Hasselbaink provided support for Steven Thompson and Gary Teale drifted infield from the right flank and back again.

With no direct opponent to occupy him in his deep defensive role, Adrian Mrowiec was caught repeatedly in two minds and was granted an embarrassing but merciful release when Skacel replaced him immediately after Beattie made it 1-1. Teale was the principal benefactor of Mrowiec’s indecision.

"We were all positive going forward and were probably back to near how we were playing at the start of the season. We were moving the ball, and everyone moving off the ball to give people options,” said Teale.

"The game should have been put to bed with the chances we created in that first half hour. It wasn't and we were punished but fortunately enough wee Nigel - who I thought was outstanding - nicked a goal for us at the end.”

Teale joined St Mirren from Sheffield Wednesday last summer but has absorbed something of the affection that Saints’ fans feel for their last notable success, their Scottish Cup win over Dundee United all of 25 years ago.

“Every week when we turn up for home games and go in the entrance you see the pictures on the wall of the 1987 Cup final win,” said Teale, who was in the Wigan Athletic side that lost 4-0 to Manchester United in the 2006 Carling Cup final at the Millennium Stadium.

“It's a long time and we maybe should have been closer to repeating it. We've had a replay in every round so it would be a hard way to get there, but we're still in it with another replay to go and hopefully it is to be our time.

“We beat Hearts in the semis that year and that could be an omen. We'd worked all week thinking Tynecastle was going to be a difficult place but we were positive in the way the manager set out the side and that showed early on.

“Then Hearts knocked the stuffing out of us and peppered Craig Samson but we weathered that and were lucky enough to get the goal. We always try and be positive and must fancy our chances now we're at home for the return leg.”

Taken from telegraph.co.uk