Hearts trudge towards the finishing line
BY Robbie Neilson’s own admission, this was no more than a ‘small step’ towards the title for Hearts, but a limp, goalless draw with Dunfermline will have done nothing to appease supporters angered by recent travails.
The calamitous exit from the Scottish Cup against Highland League Brora Rangers was compounded by last weekend’s loss in the league to Queen of the South, fuelling protests at Tynecastle and some fans’ calls for the removal of Neilson as manager.
A reaction was required at
East End Park to calm the building rage but, instead, it was the hosts who got the desired response after their own nadir against Raith Rovers on
Tuesday. A 5-1 derby drubbing simply had to prove a low point and it was the Pars who could have won it yesterday.
They created six clear opportunities, but had wayward shooting, Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon and the woodwork to curse as they settled for the point that took them back into the top four and a play-off berth.
For Hearts, who handed Shay Logan his debut, the draw stretched their advantage at the summit to 11 points and victory over Alloa Athletic on Friday could be decisive if other results before and after go their way. However, the celebrations are likely to be subdued by the poverty of recent performances.
‘The objective at the beginning of the season was to win the league,’ said Neilson (above), whose side claimed in vain for two second-half penalties.
‘We’ve taken a small step towards that. We’d have liked to have taken a bigger one but it now puts the game on Friday night under the spotlight.
‘Dunfermline started the game looking to take a point. They sit in, try and hit you on the counter and make it very difficult to get any kind of flow into the game.
‘Although we had a lot of possession in good areas, the final ball just wasn’t good there.’
Dunfermline will have been satisfied with a point but it could have been an even better afternoon for them.
Fresh from his Scotland return against the Faroe Islands, Gordon pushed a Kevin O’Hara shot round the post before the break but his second vital intervention a minute from the end of regulation time was vintage. Euan Murray slapped a powerful header towards goal from a Dom Thomas free-kick, but Gordon’s outstretched left boot saved the day for Hearts.
The Hearts No1 was helpless when Dunfermline should have earned the breakthrough in the 18th minute. Scott Banks surged onto a magnificent pass from the excellent Declan McManus, but the on-loan Crystal Palace slipped his shot well wide with only Gordon to beat. O’Hara and full-back Josh Edwards also spurned chances before the break and both teams could have had the opener in a breathless start to the second period. First, Vytas Gaspuitis, making his first start for Dunfermline, smacked a header off the crossbar from a Thomas corner before Owain Fon Williams was equal to a Liam Boyce header.
‘What I’m delighted with is the reaction from the players to go out and play against the team that’s probably going to win the league,’ said Dunfermline manager Stevie Crawford.
‘We looked dangerous on the counter-attack in the first half, we had a number of chances.
‘It was a positive reaction. The important thing is we’ve taken a point and we’re back in the play-off positions again.’