Hearts 1 Kilmarnock 3

Beaded hitman Sheridan has Hearts in stubble

From PAUL HUGHES at Tynecastle
Published: 29th September 2012
CILLIAN SHERIDAN hasn’t picked up a razor for months.

Yesterday Kilmarnock punters found out he’s the best a fan can get.

The bearded Rugby Park new boy hit a brilliant hat-trick in only his second game to sink hopeless Hearts.

Three chances, three goals. A devastating display from a player who might just be the final piece of Kenny Shiels’ jigsaw.

Sheridan opened his account last week in the 3-1 win over St Mirren.

This week he made sure no-one else got on the scoresheet as Killie eased into third in the SPL.

The good news is the big man isn’t going anywhere. His Bulgarian adventure is over. No more loan spells, no more shuttling back and forth across Europe.

If this is how Sheridan plays when he’s settled then Killie have won a watch. That might not be all they win if the lumberjack look-a-like frontman keeps up this scoring ratio.

The first five minutes of this one were scrappy, nothing more than dislocated passages of play and wasted set-pieces.

Both sides were guilty of it as they settled into a match that raged somewhere between 100mph and the speed of light.

Killie defender Michael Nelson was short with a back-pass and had to be bailed out by skipper Manuel Pascali as Callum Paterson raced into the box.

The Hearts fans howled for a penalty but Pascali’s tackle looked strong but fair as he mopped up the trouble. Fifteen minutes in Killie almost created the opener with a set-piece that was closer to being on the money.

James Dayton whipped a great free-kick from the left, which Liam Kelly missed by a fraction.

Moments later Hearts responded by carving out a chance that they wasted.

Ryan McGowan broke from defence and beat his man in the box. His cut-back from the left found Arvydas Novikovas but the young Lithuanian blew it with an ugly shot he blazed over the bar.

Former Killie star Mehdi Taouil then found Novikovas down the left, and he delivered a brilliant cross into the box.

Paterson was about to tap the ball into the net when Michael Nelson came from nowhere with a miraculous clearance.

Seconds later the young Hearts star had another chance, this time heading over from six yards.

Just before the half hour mark Hearts defender McGowan was forced up the tunnel and out of the action for a while after he lost a contact lens.

His absence couldn’t have been more telling as Killie took advantage to storm into the lead.

Up until that point Sheridan had barely won a header such was the dominance of McGowan, Darren Barr and Marius Zaliukas.

With the Aussie leaving a gap, the Irishman took advantage and cushioned a header into the back of the net from Dayton’s delicious clipped cross.

It was a cruel blow for the home side and their gaffer John McGlynn, who had set themselves up well to cope with those situations.

Killie almost doubled their lead with a carbon copy moments later, but this time Zaliukas woke up and got to the ball before Sheridan helped himself to a second.

McGowan was then back on the pitch but by that point the damage had been done.

The game was quickly becoming about crosses from wide trying to hit the target-man in the box.

Andy Driver played his part two minutes the break, with a brilliant cross for Paterson. The youngster mis-timed his jump and the header landed on the roof of the net.

Hearts came out for the second half determined to turn this game around.

And for six minutes it looked like they really meant it.

But then Killie demonstrated the value in having a top-class striker in your ranks.

Sheridan brilliantly bent his run, allowing Pascali to spear a lovely through ball into his path.

The former Celtic kid had the pace to get in the box before slipping a cool finish under Jamie MacDonald.

The bearded striker did all the work for his second. For his hat-trick, Sheridan had it handed to him on a plate.

Dayton launched a free-kick into the box, keeper MacDonald let it squirm out his grasp and the newly-arrived Killie No12 simply had to tap home.

The Jambos grabbed a late consolation with two minutes to go when Zaluska bundled home from close ranger after a goal-mouth scuffle.