MY HEARTS ARE BEATING AGAIN
Levein joy as Jambos give him first win in new reign
Craig Levein told of his joy and relief at his first win back in the Hearts hotseat – but how Accies made them battle for it.
His team were two goals to the good after 23 minutes and coasting before a Rakish Bingham goal sparked a spirited Hamilton fightback that left Jambos hanging on for the points that took them above their hosts. But Levein was delighted. He said: “That was a typical away match in the Premiership for us so we had to be gritty, determined, focused – all the things that make good defenders.
“It was good to see them digging in when needed. I was disappointed last week. This time I am thrilled.
“It was a strange game. I felt the first 30 minutes we dominated, played excellently to get two in front. The turnaround arrived with losing the goal – we made a mistake and Hamilton punished us.
“Second half we defended excellently. Winning 2-1 it would’ve been great to go out and make it 3-1, 4-1. But the important thing was making sure Hamilton didn’t score.”
It took Hearts only three minutes to take the lead and it was a moment Ross Callachan will never forget.
The Hearts-daft midfielder – in only his second game after being signed from Raith Rovers – pounced to bundle past Gary Woods from close range after good work by Jamie Walker and Michael Smith. The early strike set the tone, with Levein’s side dictating the tempo and looking at ease on the plastic pitch.
Accies’ passing was sloppy though – Bingham missed a chance before Hearts struck again in 23 minutes.
Ioannis Skondras got on the wrong side of Isma Goncalves and it only took a slight push for the striker to go down.
Bobby Madden rightly pointed to the spot and Kyle Lafferty made no mistake from 12 years.
The home side didn’t crumble and pulled a goal back in 33 minutes when former Tynecastle favourite David Templeton robbed Rafal Grzelak on the edge of the box, got to the byeline and drilled a low cross for Bingham to tap home from three yards.
Bingham should have levelled before the break but headed wide.
The game threatened to boil over in 57 minutes as John Souttar cleaned out Steven Boyd, sparking a bust-up between Darian McKinnon and Christophe Berra.
When the dust settled and Souttar had been yellow carded, Ali Crawford forced Jon McLaughlin into the save of the match. It was a stunner and despite a few more nervy moments – and more ill-feeling when Walker appeared to take a dive – it earned Jambos the victory
Accies boss Martin Canning said: “You can’t give anyone in this league a two-goal start after 15 minutes.
“But from there on we were the better team by a distance. It’s just so frustrating. Craig Levein will be delighted with the points because at the end of the day that’s what matters.”