EASY IF YOU KNOW HOW
Hearts book a place in the final by unleashing dead-ball strategies after fruitless first half
WHILE so many of the best-laid plans for the season had to be ripped up because of injury along the way, Hearts are thankful that one key part of the playbook avoided a visit to the shredder.
Assistant manager Austin MacPhee’s detailed set-piece scheming survived in the wreckage of a league campaign brought down by a succession of long-term absences for major players.
As Craig Levein constantly shuffled his pack and adjusted tactics to atone for the loss of a litany of his top performers — as he was required to do again yesterday — MacPhee has kept on producing free-kicks and corners that opponents can’t handle.
Inverness were the victims of his plotting to pave the way for Hearts having a shot next month at a ninth Scottish Cup against either Aberdeen or Celtic.
Before a penalty from Sean Clare wrapped up victory over the Championship play-off promotion contenders on 74 minutes, Hearts scored twice from corners through Uche Ikpeazu and John Souttar.
Open play wasn’t working, certainly, in a difficult-to-watch first half which ended just as the Edinburgh derby had culminated — to the sound of Hearts supporters booing.
Patience had been wearing thin but a far more positive and powerful second-half display meant the maroon-clad support left celebrating a fully deserved and comprehensive success.
A snapshot of how Levein’s ideas have been torn apart by fitness setbacks can be seen with a flashback to their 5-0 victory over Caley Thistle in July.
Ikpeazu, who grabbed two first-half goals that day, missed five months with a complex foot problem.
Steven Naismith, who netted a secondhalf double, is currently dealing with his second long-term injury and the other scorer that day, Ben Garuccio, is staring at nine-month absence.
Throughout the slog of a season, Christophe Berra and Souttar have been forced into significant time out, while Demetri Mitchell is back at Manchester United with a knee injury.
With Scottish Cup final places to compete for, Levein will have a hungry group to work with. He’d love a fit one, too, to give him the best possible chance of a shock back at Hampden on May 25 as he bids to win a major honour for the first time as player or manager.
Certainly, he wouldn’t have dreamed up Bobby Burns at left-back in a semi-final in April but, following his first start for the club at that berth last week against Hibs, the Northern Irish teenager was back in.
And as Inverness had their former flyer Jake Mulraney to deal with down that flank, it was Shaun Rooney who turned out to be the full-back with most to worry about on the day.
Mulraney was a menace and Hearts the team with most of the possession and probing. However, seriously testing Mark Ridgers was beyond them in the first half.
Ikpeazu and, thanks to painkillers, Peter Haring recovered from derby knocks to beef up the Hearts bid. There was a twist as focal point Ikpeazu was aided by 19-year-old Aidan Keena on only his second start, but there was little cohesion between the pair.
Nervous Hearts seemed burdened by the favourites tag as even their best chance was the result of laboured work.
Olly Lee’s ball was deflected into the path of Ikpeazu, who was crowded out as he rumbled into the penalty area and could only summon a weak shot on the spin, easy for Ridgers to gather.
What a difference the interval made. Lee’s 30-yard crack within seconds of the restart, requiring a smart response from Ridgers to brush over the bar, lit the fire.
It was one Inverness weren’t able to smother until it was too late as Hearts kept them camped in defending and forced home the key goal on 49 minutes.
Lee crafted a short corner for Mulraney, who disguised his move to peel away from the pack. Mulraney was in isolation as he drove a shot at goal and, in a scramble with Rooney, Ikpeazu claimed the critical touch to force the ball in from six yards.
Rooney was booked within seconds of the restart for a challenge on Ikpeazu.
Bobby Zlamal’s stunning 57th-minute save maintained Hearts’ lead. Souttar and Arnaud Djoum disrupted Liam Polworth unfairly in the eyes of referee Don Robertson on the edge of the Hearts area.
Unlike the Hearts dead-ball dilemmas, there were no smoke and mirrors about what Joe Chalmers had in mind. His direct hit was sailing into the top-right corner until the Czech brilliantly pushed the ball onto the woodwork and away.
Inverness manager John Robertson then swapped his captain Carl Tremarco, who was feeling the effects of an accidental stud to the knee suffered in a Lee challenge, for Kevin McHattie.
In the 10-minute flurry during which they stood a chance of sticking with Hearts, they lost a marginal call.
Jamie McCart turned Berra then unleashed a peach of a curling left-foot shot over Zlamal and in. A finish fit to win a cup final, never mind equalise in a semi, but the defender was in an offside position and flagged for it. However, it was Mulraney’s touch that had taken the ball into his path and no official spotted what Robertson screamed for.
The Gorgie men moved in for the kill on 66 minutes, via another Lee corner. This time Hearts had an errant touch from an Inverness player to thank rather than
anything too cunning from the MacPhee directive.
Charlie Trafford’s deployment at the near post should have resulted in a clearing header as the Lee delivery floated in.
Instead, his positioning appeared dubious and his intervention guided the ball all the way to the back stick where Souttar arrived in full flight to boot home a close-range volley.
Linked with Rangers on the morning of the game, the Scotland defender struck his first goal for 13 months — a fine reward for a thoroughly dominant display.
Hearts were only going to stretch the margin of victory from then on and, when Ridgers clumsily went feet first into his attempt to put the blocks on Ikpeazu, a penalty rounded off matters at three.
Substitute Clare had warmed up sufficiently in the three minutes since replacing Mulraney to be hot from 12 yards.