Hearts 1 Kilmarnock 3

Date : Sat 29 Sep 2012 Kick Off : 15:00
Venue : Tynecastle Stadium Attendance : 11847
Comp : Clydesdale Bank Premier League Referee : B Madden

Goals :
Zaliukas 88

Sheridan 32
Sheridan 51
Sheridan 62
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Alan Cochrane @ Tynecastle

A controlled display of team football, individual excellence all over the pitch, and a Cillian Sheridan hat-trick, gave Kilmarnock a deserved win here today, and ensured all three points went back to Ayrshire. Hearts were limited to half chances, and dead ball situations, mainly corners, to create problems, but they were almost all dealt with by a rock-solid Killie defence.

Kilmarnock hadn't a failure. Kyle Letheren's toughest job was to deal with a short back-header from Ryan O'Leary, and he quickly raced out to handle that situation. The centre back pairing of Michael Nelson and O'Leary, with skipper Manuel Pascali in front of them, gave nothing away; while James Fowler and Rory McKeown handled raids down the wings and set up many of their own. Danny Racchi, Liam Kelly and James Dayton ran the mid-field, and Gary Harkins and Cillian Sheridan probed and stretched the Hearts defence all afternoon.

An early Dayton free kick gave notice of what was to come when it zipped across the six yard box with Liam Kelly a hair's breadth away from connecting, but we had to wait half an hour for the opener. It was worth the weight. Killie attacked up the right but couldn't find a way through. Instead, they brought it back, played it across the back four and took it up the left. Via Pascali and Sheridan the ball was worked to Dayton on the left. He dropped a shoulder, skipped to the bye line and crossed. Sheridan seemed to hang in the air before glancing his header wide of Jamie MacDonald, and into the net.

Before the break, for Hearts, Robinson had a header go over, and Harkins just failed to connect with a Sheridan cross, so Killie went in for the interval one goal ahead.

Five minutes after the restart it was two, and it was a terrific solo effort. Pascali passed to Sheridan just inside the Hearts half. The tall Irishman galloped straight for goal, he held off the pursuing pack, and rattled a low shot past the advancing MacDonald to double Killie's lead. Ten minutes later, the match ball was his. Rory McKeown fizzed in a free kick from the left, the defence didn't deal with it, goalkeeper MacDonald could only parry it out, and Sheridan tapped it into the net.

Before the end, Patterson shot wide, and Letheren had a diving save from Sutton, but with three minutes left, Zaliukas got a consolation goal for the home side when he met a corner at the back post and headed past the Killie keeper.

A good day out for the noisy travelling support, the management, and the team. Listen to the thoughts of manager Kenny Shiels, and skipper Manuel Pascali, at www.kicktalk.co.uk.

Hearts: MacDonald, Grainger, McGowan, Barr, Stevenson, Robinson (Sutton), Taouil, Driver (Carrick), Novikovas, Zaliukas, Paterson

Kilmarnock: Letheren, Fowler, O'Leary, Nelson, Racchi (Winchester), Kelly (Johnson), Dayton (Johnston), Harkins, Sheridan, McKeown, Pascali

Referee: Bobby Madden