VA VA DJOUM!
Midfield dynamo eyes Cup derby glory after Hearts serve up super six
STREETWISE, strong in all the right areas, though rarely guilty of overtly strong-arm tactics. Also capable of playing with as much pizzazz as any team in Scotland.
There is a lot to admire about Hearts. Even among those on the wrong end of an absolute battering.
Mark McGhee will certainly watch his words more carefully in future after his pre-match comments about the ‘robust’ Hearts had been wildly — perhaps wilfully — misinterpreted by so many.
The Motherwell boss, who could never have imagined his 900th game as a manager would end up like this, had actually gone out of his way to defend Robbie Neilson’s team from criticism.
Not that making nice would do much to temper the rediscovered ruthless streak running through the Gorgie boys at the moment. When their blood is up and Tynecastle is rocking, the best most domestic opponents might hope for is that the home side suffer an off day in front of goal.
Saturday was not one of those days, as Hearts rampaged their way to a win that, without ignoring the three or four very good chances Motherwell had to score themselves, might well have ended up even more of a rout.
They were hardened in the places where toughness is needed, as skilful and quick as the modern game requires, and capable of holding the ball once they had hounded the opposition into giving it up.
Hearts are one more defender and another striker away from being the complete package as a team.
Best of all, though, is the fact they could do all this — ending the resurgence of a Motherwell team who had not lost in six games — while missing key men.
Sam Nicholson was absent with a knee injury, while Jamie Walker is only just returning to training after a long lay-off.
Get them back, get a couple more in and make it to the end of the month without losing anyone, and there is no reason why Hearts should not regain the kind of momentum that saw them come flying back into the Premiership last August.
The Scottish Cup should certainly be in their sights, with one of the biggest cheers on Saturday coming after the final whistle — when fans were reminded the next home game is against Hibs in the fifth round.
Former Lech Poznan midfielder Arnaud Djoum, one of six different scorers in the Motherwell mauling, admitted afterwards: ‘I’m very excited about that because, for me, it’s going to be my first Edinburgh derby.
‘I’ve heard a lot about it, the rivalry between the two teams, and I’m already looking forward to it.
‘It will be a great day for the fans — especially if we win.
‘There were a few derby games in Poland but I didn’t play in a real derby. This will be my biggest, definitely. I don’t have a lot of experience in this kind of rivalry. It’s going to be something special.
‘I’ve heard a lot about the rivalry between Hearts and Hibs. Two teams in the same city, there is always going to be a big fight between them. There is history about this fixture.
‘The Scottish Cup offers us a big possibility because it’s all about winning one game.
‘If we can play like we have in the last couple of matches, we’ve got a big chance to lift the trophy.
‘This is the one we have more chance to win. If we keep going and work hard, we can do that.
‘There is real quality in this squad. We have Jamie Walker about to come back, Sam Nicholson is out injured — but look at how Billy King did against Motherwell.
‘Soufian El Hassnaoui is coming back, too, so we have very, very good players. That has to be good because, if you play for a good team, a big team, you can’t just rely on 11 players. You need maybe 20 to carry you through the season.’
Motherwell could have fielded a rugby union-sized full XV and still struggled to contain Hearts, who went a goal up from an Igor Rossi header after 11 minutes – and never really looked back.
Another goal from the againimpressive Osman Sow and a penalty won and converted by the increasingly-appreciated Gavin Reilly made it 3-0 with just over 20 minutes gone.
If they didn’t quite maintain that pace, Neilson used his bench well to freshen up the team in the second half, with his first two subs both playing significant roles.
Dario Zanatta set up Callum Paterson for No 4, while Juanma banged in a fifth — prompting a burst of Hawaii Five-0 from the always switched-on club DJ — three minutes from time.
The 90 minutes had elapsed when Djoum jinked past two Motherwell players and duped David Clarkson into tripping him up inside the box, the central midfielder rightly reserving the spot-kick honours for himself.
‘That was the first penalty I’ve taken,’ confessed the Cameroonborn Belgian. ‘But it’s 5-0, you know? It’s easier to take a penalty in that situation!
‘I wasn’t going to let anyone else take it, definitely. I made the action to win the penalty, so it was my chance, 5-0 … it was my moment.’
Seasons are made up of moments. If Hearts continue to seize their chances in the way they’ve done over the past two weeks, dumping Aberdeen out of the Cup and now returning to winning ways in the league, they’ll be hard to ignore.