TICKING TYNEBOMB
Terracing jeers, a team bent out of shape and a no-holds-barred post-mortem is proof of pressure building at Hearts
FURY in the stands, angry words in the dressing room. If howls of rage and frustration count for anything, Hearts certainly won’t lack for drive or determination in the weeks and months ahead.
But mumps, moans and groans from the leaders in this Jambos squad won’t be enough, on their own, to turn things around.
Unless they find a pattern of play that actually works, last season’s struggles are going to resurface in the campaign to come.
Conor Washington’s revelation that ‘words’ were exchanged between players after Saturday’s disjointed draw at a fractious Tynecastle was hardly a surprise.
If there weren’t at least three or four senior pros making their feelings known in the wake of this one, a game Ross County would have won had Brian Graham converted a penalty seven minutes from time, boss Craig Levein would be in serious trouble.
There are solutions available to the former Scotland manager, who is experienced enough to know that organisation, fight and dig might just be enough to get them through Friday night’s Betfred Cup clash at Motherwell. Though probably not the following weekend’s trip to Celtic Park.
Confidence is clearly an issue, according to Levein. Northern Ireland striker Washington feels the problems are even more basic. Though equally worrying.
‘I don’t think we got the shape that the manager wanted right as a group of players — and we were really poor in the second half,’ said the ex-Sheffield United forward.
‘And there were some words said in the changing room that needed to be said, especially around first and second balls.
‘They’ve come to our ground, dominated and outfought us, which is a real disappointment.
‘It definitely felt like I was feeding off scraps in the second half but I should’ve done better with a couple in the first half.
‘The talk was led just by the players. We need to get better as a group, help each other more and we said that.
‘We need to stick together more on the pitch and have more communication — and not let the crowd’s frustrations affect us.
‘It’s a whole team thing and it’s just a communication thing. We need to help each other out more.
‘It’s such a basic thing to talk to each other on the pitch but we just didn’t do it enough in the second half.’
Washington is right on one point. A thousand words of recrimination the game aren’t worth one good shout of encouragement or instruction during it.
As for his assertion that Hearts were outfought, well, that must be a concern.
‘I think a lot of that is to do with the way we didn’t get the shape right,’ he said.
‘It just felt like wave after wave of attack in the second half and, with them getting a penalty, we did well to come out with a point.
‘Definitely the experienced guys lead those conversations after a game. If you’ve got something to say it’s good to get it out in the open. And, hopefully, we can move forward from that going into Friday’s game.’
Hearts should be better. One look at their starting XI on Saturday tells you as much. Well, with one or two exceptions.
Uche Ikpeazu was a fun addition to the Scottish game last season. But his status as a cult-hero around Georgie is quickly fading.
There were times when Hearts would have been as well playing balls off a brick wall, so lacking is the centre-forward’s first touch.
Perhaps that explains why he seems so reluctant to actually play the ball at times, preferring to wrestle with defenders in the hope of winning a free-kick.
Steven Naismith might have added some subtlety before going off with a tight hamstring at half-time. But playing him out on the left wing in a 4-4-2 is a waste.
Once Levein had used all three subs, his team lost any sense of cohesion. Their play became chaotic. Team-mates chased the same ball in defence, occasionally coming together in the process, and there was no greater accuracy when they went forward.
There was something fitting, then, about the freakish nature of the incident that led to County’s penalty.
A ball bouncing off the corner flag? That happens more often than you might imagine.
The fact that this one ricocheted right into the path of Marcus Fraser, with Aidan White caught on the wrong side of the rampaging full-back, was definitely a fluke.
White had no option but to pull down Fraser inside the box, leaving ref Alan Muir with the simplest of decisions. Graham struck the post with his penalty. If he’d scored, the home fans would have gone berserk with rage.
‘They’ve got every right to be frustrated,’ said Washington. ‘They — and us — think we should be winning this game. We should have more than enough to do that.
‘No disrespect to Ross County but, at our place, we should be dominating and winning games.
‘The fans were probably right with the reaction they gave us, to be honest.’
Ross Stewart was the stand-out in a County side who more than earned their point, coming so close to what would have been two opening victories in their return to the top flight.
‘There is definitely no fear in this squad,’ said the striker. ‘The gaffers have made it clear that we’re here to have a go.
‘We set up 4-4-2 against Hearts with an eye to causing them problems. And we did that.’ HEARTS (4-4-2): Zlamal 5; Smith 6, Halkett 7, Berra 6, White 6; Walker 5, Clare 5, Damour 6 (Bozanic 73), Naismith 5 (Mulraney 46); Washington 6, Ikpeazu 5 (Henderson 62). Subs not used: Doyle, Dikamona, Kenna, Irving. Booked: None. ROSS COUNTY (4-4-2): Laidlaw 6; Fraser 6, Morris 6, Fontaine 6, Kelly 6; Draper 6, Vigurs 6 (Spittal 65); Gardyne 7, Mullin 6; Stewart 7, Mckay 6 (Graham, 76). Subs not used: Grivosti, Watson, Paton, Ruddy, Gallagher. Booked: Kelly, Morris, Spittal. Man of the match: Ross Stewart. Referee: Alan Muir. Attendance: 15,652.
It’s such a basic thing to talk to each other but we just didn’t do it