GLASGOW KRIS
First it was Hibs who knocked out Hearts with an Auld Reekie uppercut – now Doolan and co hit Hearts with a..
Ian Cathro demanded fight from his Hearts team.
But his players were left on the canvas again at Firhill after a beating from Partick Thistle.
The Jambos boss wanted a response after being bludgeoned into submission by city rivals Hibs in the Scottish Cup.
But Cathro was left taking blows again yesterday as his side looked punch drunk in Maryhill.
Kris Doolan and Liam Lindsay nabbed the goals to earn the Jags a deserved three points against 10-man Hearts who had Esmael Goncalves sent off.
The fact that Cathro’s men failed to turn up so soon after that defeat at Easter Road will now be a major worry for the Tynecastle head coach.
They were out-fought and out-thought by Alan Archibald’s side who were comfortable for the entire 90 minutes.
Young centre- back Lindsay, who bagged his seventh goal of the season, insisted Thistle were always in control – and his touch before rif ling home wasn’t too bad either.
He said: “I took one of the best touches I’ll ever take in my life. Then I hit the best shot I’ll ever take as well.
“I didn’t know what to do when the ball hit the back of the net. I’ve scored quite a few this season but I still don’t know how to celebrate.
“That’s my first with my right foot this season. I’m on seven now and I don’t see why I can’t get to 10.
“But I’d still take clean sheets and wins over goals. It’s all about the team right now – we want a consistent streak.
“We felt comfortable throughout today and we never looked out of control.
“Hearts didn’t have any chances and now we’re looking forward to Dundee on Wednesday night.”
With Partick Thistle you at least know what you’re getting every week – graft, endeavour, organisation. And when they sprinkle it with a bit of Chris Erskine quality or Doolan sniffs out a goal, they can get results. But this current Hearts team under Cathro are still searching for an identity.
There may well be some grand plan behind the scenes with Craig Levein orchestrating from his director of football role. The raft of January signings from across Europe are apparently a short-term measure until homegrown kids start coming through the ranks.
But Levein has been back at the club for almost three years. And dealing with the here and now, it’s difficult to see what direction this Jambos side is going in.
In the first 45 minutes at Firhill they were woeful. Cathro wanted a reaction from them after the midweek derby defeat. And certainly there was no evident lack of effort. But in terms of quality, pattern of play or gameplan, it was non-existent early on.
If Cathro’s plan was to stamp a style on this side, we’ve yet to see it. Granted, the manager was dealt a blow when Aaron Hughes pulled out injured before kick-off.
And of course he’s already missing Callum Paterson and John Souttar from his back four. But his defence, made up of a Slovenian, a Greek, a German and a Morroccan, were all over the place for Thistle’s opening goal.
With less than five minutes gone they had two chances to clear Ryan Edwards’ free-kick and failed miserably.
Then when Adam Barton knocked the ball down to Doolan four yards out, he swivelled and flicked the ball past Jack Hamilton.
It was a disastrous start for Hearts and they didn’t improve much as the half wore on.
Goncalves had a half chance from an Alexandros Tziolis pass but the striker could only slice it wide under pressure
from Danny Devine. If anything, the home side should have been further ahead at the break. Doolan, chasing 100 goals for Thistle, latched on to a deflected Mustapha Dumbuya cross but Hamilton thwarted him.
Then the Jags frontman’s bullet header from a Callum Booth cross was brilliantly saved by the young Hearts keeper.
The Firhill pitch was difficult to play fluent football on but with Tynecastle the way it is, these Hearts players should have been used to it.
Skipper Jamie Walker was forced off after a head knock and with eight different nationalities in the starting line-up it looked like 10 individuals on the pitch as opposed to a proper team. Cathro would have demanded more in the second half but in truth it was more of the same.
And their cause wasn’t helped by Goncalves’ red card after 64 minutes.
He’d struggled against Thistle’s back three all afternoon and after collecting a yellow for dissent, he was sent off for catching Christie Elliott late after the ball was gone.
It gave the Jambos a mountain to climb but while Thistle were only a goal up, they were still in the game.
Unfortunately for Cathro, his side never looked like levelling it and Lindsay sealed the points with a terrific goal. Abdul Osman delivered a cross and the big centre-back took one touch in the box before lashing it past Hamilton with his so-called weaker right foot.
It was a cracking strike which ensured there was no way back for the lacklustre Jambos.
Thistle gaffer Archibald said: “It was especially pleasing because it was a real professional performance from us. We didn’t panic. Hearts changed their shape a couple of times and we dealt with it.
“We’re delighted. I know they had a lot of bad press after the derby but they’ve still got good players and we had to make sure we stopped them playing, which we did.”