Levein left exhausted after return to dugout
Heroics by Dons keeper Lewis prevent Hearts from giving new boss a victory at Murrayfield
AFTER five years out of the dugout, Craig Levein admits his return to frontline management left his head spinning.
The first game of Levein’s second spell in charge of Hearts coincided with the club’s arrival at Murrayfield for three matches and pitted him against strong opposition — an Aberdeen side that boasted a 100-per-cent record from the first four Premiership games of the season.
Not only did Hearts keep Derek McInnes’ team at bay, they succeeded in making Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis the most eye-catching player afield thanks to a series of efforts.
A clearly drained Levein emerged to reveal he would need time to fully process the experience of managing for the first time since he presided over a Scotland defeat in Brussels in 2012.
‘I wasn’t as clear-headed as I wanted to be out there but another two or three games, a bit more training and I’ll be feeling more like it,’ he said. ‘It’s a little bit like a player getting back into it, and I felt that way in training as well.
‘Once I have got over the disappointment of not winning
HOW fitting that a man paid to catch the ball should emerge the hero as football took up temporary residence at Murrayfield.
Unfortunately for short-lease tenants Hearts, the man in question was Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis, whose series of wonderful saves prevented Craig Levein from making a winning managerial return.
The home of rugby is not used to scoreless sporting contests, but even the temporarily vacant Tynecastle cannot have hosted too many 0-0s as entertaining as this. Hearts had by far the better of it but Aberdeen, still unbeaten and level on points with Premiership leaders Celtic, played their part, not least through the voices of a 7,000-strong visiting support.
As expected, Levein wasted no time in shaking things up, starting with a change to the custodian of the home goalposts.
Jack Hamilton has operated as the club’s No 1 for the past year but was taken out of the firing line to allow new arrival Jon McLaughlin to celebrate his 30th birthday with a Hearts debut.
Never one for the softly-softly approach to management, Levein’s toughness was all over this Hearts performance, making for a team unrecognisable to the group that routinely drifted out of games under Ian Cathro.
From the decision to field three central defenders, through the inclusion of the unsettled Jamie Walker and the omission of Kyle Lafferty, there were talking points in every department of the home team.
While intrigue in the Hearts team selection was natural, there was also something noteworthy in the selection made by Derek McInnes.
Fresh from a productive transfer window, the Dons boss also fielded a back three and paired key signing Stevie May up front with the club’s established top scorer Adam Rooney for the first time.
Battle lines drawn, the teams tore into the contest and within a couple of minutes both Rooney and Walker had appealed for penalties. Neither looked clear-cut, but Christophe Berra’s handling of Rooney as he strained for a header seemed to place Aberdeen’s claim on the firmest ground. Referee Craig Thomson was unmoved by each incident.
As the game started to settle, it was Aberdeen who looked stronger and more authoritative. May was looking especially dangerous, forever foraging and linking superbly with Ryan Christie and Scott Wright. One direct run gave cause for McLaughlin to put hands on a skidding shot.
Otherwise, Aberdeen’s shooting was a little wonky. Debutant Dom Ball, Christie and Kenny McLean all saw shots flash wide in what was becoming a frustrating first half for McInnes.
Hearts’ threat emerged later but it was potent. Lewis’ save from Walker’s free-kick was a routine parry but when Esmael Goncalves found his range at the end of a burrowing run, the keeper had to move quickly and at full stretch to put the ball wide.
His next stop, an acrobatic tip-over from Walker’s curler, was even better and stopped the ball finding the top corner.
Lewis continued to excel after half-time, turning away efforts from new arrival Ross Callahan and Walker, who looked very much back in the mood.
‘A good goalkeeper will win you points when you’re not at your best,’ said McInnes. ‘Lewis has done that for us and we’re grateful to have him. ‘His concentration is so good and he fills the goals brilliantly. He just seems to have a calmness and assurance that says “I’m dealing with this” and top keepers have that.’ Questions have been asked about Walker’s mindset in the face of transfer interest from Rangers. The Ibrox club failed to meet Hearts’ asking price before the transfer deadline and Levein appeared to call out the player’s agent by claiming promises made to the 24-year-old had not been met.
The manager’s comment may have been part of a bridge-building exercise, but his inclusion was a sign of the club’s determination to reintegrate him for the remainder of his contract, which expires next summer.
Walker showed a willingness to work back from his role in support of Goncalves. His perseverance to hound down Ball gifted the Portuguese striker with another chance to score, with a chipped effort that came back off the bar.
Goncalves was promptly replaced by Lafferty whose high headed effort only served to highlight how little threat was emanating from the strikers at the other end of the pitch.
McInnes had to change it and in turn withdrew Rooney and Wright for Nicky Maynard and Gary Mackay-Steven, fully dried out after his recent unscheduled dip in Glasgow’s River Kelvin.
The switch gave Aberdeen greater mobility in the final third but no clearcut chances arrived. Hearts retained a threat and only a last-ditch tackle by Shay Logan stopped Lafferty applying a simple finish at the far post.
And right at the death, there was Lewis again to confidently grab Don Cowie’s point-blank effort.
‘He’s staying at mine tonight, so I think he might be in the shed after that,’ said Cowie. ‘We were at Cardiff together. It’s no surprise to me that he has put in performances like that a few times since he’s come up here. It’s just unfortunate he’s produced another one against us.’