Hat trick shows Sheridan's in right place

Richard Winton
Assistant Sports Editor

EIGHTEEN games without a goal, then four in three; something about playing for Kilmarnock clearly agrees with Cillian Sheridan.

When the Irishman washed up at Rugby Park earlier this month, he spoke candidly about how disheartening it was to not have his hard work at St Johnstone last term rewarded, and about how the style of play preached by Kenny Shiels would hopefully complement his toil and present him with the goals he craved.

His decision has, so far, been spectacularly rewarded. A goal in the win over St Mirren last weekend ended his drought, and the damn burst in remarkable fashion at Tynecastle yesterday when the 23-year-old scored a splendid hat-trick. Kilmarnock did so with as accomplished a counter-attacking performance as you could hope to witness against a Hearts side who will spend much of this week wondering just how it took them 88 minutes to find the net.

Hearts appeared uneasy whenever Kilmarnock delivered the ball from wide areas and had been very fortunate to escape when an inswinging James Dayton free-kick narrowly eluded Liam Kelly.

However, they failed to heed the warning and were punished after the half-hour mark. Taking advantage of Ryan McGowan's absence – the defender was retrieving a replacement contact lens – Kilmarnock probed down the Hearts right, working a situation where Dayton was isolated against Medhi Taouil on the touchline. The Englishman shimmied and whipped over a vicious cross that Sheridan needed only to nudge across Jamie MacDonald and into the far corner of the net.

The goal allowed Kilmarnock to implement the strategy that ultimately enabled them to win handsomely. Sitting relatively deep and inviting Hearts to push the ball around in front of them, Shiels' side were rarely troubled yet retained a menace in attack that proved too much. Sheridan was a willing out ball and it was from one such sharp switch that the visitors burnished their advantage just after the interval.

Manuel Pascali speared a searching pass over the top of Grainger for the Irishman to chase and chase he did, loping on to the ball and holding off the defender before rolling under MacDonald.

Tynecastle turned mutinous, baying for an offside decision that never came, but amid the tumult Kilmarnock retained their composure and extended their lead. Questions will be asked of MacDonald, who could only push Danny Racchi's free kick out after it reared it up front of him, but Sheridan's alertness in prodding past the prone goalkeeper should be commended, too. "Confidence is a wonderful thing," said Shiels of the striker. "It's about a holistic approach: you must look at the individual and the areas that need development both physically and psychologically and he is improving."

The ruthlessness of Sheridan was exactly what Hearts lacked. The Tynecastle side's profligacy was, in the first half especially, breathtaking. The hosts fashioned a welter of opportunities, most of which fell to Callum Paterson. Three times in the opening half, the 17-year-old managed to get on the end of tempting crosses into the six-yard area, but on each occasion headed over the bar; a flaw he also exhibited against St Mirren a couple of weeks ago.

It took until the 88th-minute for the Hearts goal to come, Zaliukas scudding a Grainger corner into the net. "It's the same old story," said manager John McGlynn. "We're not taking chances when we are on top. If we got the first goal it would have put a different complexion on the game but, still, we gave away soft goals today."

Taken from the Herald