Midweek games

Originally sent on 27th October


We shall not, we shall not be moved, not by the Hibs the Celtic or the blah blah blah.

A serene balmy night in the west of Edinburgh belied this years advancing age and saw the first mid week league encounter of this already remarkable season.
Kilmarnock visit the league leaders. League leaders who find themselves 3 points clear and unbeaten having played all comers one time round. League leaders who also who find themselves managerless ( nuff said about that debacle ), Captainless as Steven Pressley was sent off on Saturday and more missing midfield talisman Paul Hartley ( pulled a hamstring on the hour mark on saturday but like an eejit he kept struggling on til 5 minutes to go. You would hope that a decent manager would have had him hooked immediately to protect the hamstring?? ) .

For all the influx of foreign quality, the spine of this Hearts team remains fundementally Scottish. Indeed it is the self same spine as that of the resurgent Scotland team. To help a wee bit with the starting line up you are having so much trouble with - here is that Scottish spine


Craig Gordon

Steven Pressley Andy webster

Paul Hartley

Hartley is one of those energetic box to box midfielders that can ( and does ) drive the pace of the game, so when Hearts are clocking a rate of naughts as they put team after team to the sword it is in large part Hartley setting the pace.

So with three of the most important aspects of the team gone for the night at least it was with a fair degree of trepidation that i and Claire ventured along to the game.
Without really causing too much of a stir Kilmarnock are mid table+, would probably be flirting with a challenge for a euro spot if it were not for Hearts and Hibs fantastic starts to the season. This looks more and more like a 4 horse race or 3 if you accept how shite Rangers are ( more on that later).
So taking Killie on under the current circumstances was no mean feet, Celtic had gone to Ayrshire at the weekend and sneaked away with a 1 - 0 win to keep within 3 points of us.
The game starts and i am immediately bemused that we have not only had to soak up the losses to key personnel but the interim manager has decided to tinker with the positions of those that remain???
Rudi Skacel - 9 goals in 11 games normally ploughs a very rich furrow up the left channel, is playing straight through the middle just behind the front two.
We are understandably not looking our usual selves, disjointed and lacking in confidence and focus on what we are about. At the back Pressley's replacement, young Cristophe Berra ( Scottish weirdly ) is just not the same imposing centre half that we are used to and this permeates right through the back 4. Lucky Craig Gordon does not notice and pulls off a couple of good saves in the opening minutes.
gradually Hearts begin to take control of the game and we start to cause some difficulties in the Killie third.
As the half rolls on Hearts are more and more on top and .......... For the first time Rudi Skacel finds himself out on the left wing where he should be - one touch and a magnificent early cross to the back post sees Jankauskas collect unburdened by any of those pesky defenders, he slots the ball home.
Hearts 1
Kilmarnock 0
That really was the single piece of true quality in the game.
If i had not been so shocked at the weekend i would have described to you the 'almost goal of the season' there was a move that failed only in the final ball not being quite strong enough for Pospicil to pick up on the penalty spot. But oh my god it was breath taking.
It was basically 4 players playing a series of triangles up the left flank from one box to the other, but what made it so good.........
I swear
each pass was played one touch and inch perfect,
the ball never touched the ground or rose higher than 2 feet off the ground,
each pass was played at a frightening speed ( i mean ferrocious ),
not a single Dunfermline player moved a single inch whilst this whirlwind danced around them.
If Pospicil had got to it and crashed it into the roof of the net i would have gone home there and then having just witnessed football perfection!

So half time came and the second 45 started much like the first had ended, but gradually Killie began to take control. They had adopted that fair old tactic of turning the game into a midfield scrap. Hearts can look after themselves there is no doubt about that, but with the reduced firepower in the middle of the park we were allways going to struggle to stay in control of a battle.
It was good tho i enjoyed it, it was tense and the ref was making obvious mistakes and the crowd were getting upset and all that stuff that makes a game worth watching. Much better than the tepid destruction of Dunfermline at the weekend, thats for sure.

So to Easter Road on Saturday. There is a fair shout that Sir Bobby Robson ( ex Ipswich, Barcelona, England, Newcastle manager ) will be the new Hearts boss by the weekend. He was more or less offered the job in the summer pre George Burley but for one reason or another turned it down. He has expressed an interest this time round tho? My instincts tell me that this is a mistake, not for any other reason than he is 72 years old. I have listened to him a lot on the box over the years and he is probably the best talker of a game of football i have heard. I guess he may work out as a kind of director of football cum father figure to steady the ship and instill a sense of focus and direction but we would sure need a good solid coach in there as well. The return of Robbo perhaps? stranger things have happened at sea christ stranger things have happened at Tyney lately. Robbo walked out on his managerial post at Ross County last week also?? All this is pure speculation you understand and we could just as easily have Lothar Matheus instilled as head coach tomorrow.
Hibs are a good team i have mentioned before, but i think Hearts are just that bit stronger so i expect us to pull it off, but we must be aware if they get their noses in front they are the best team in the league at catching you on the break. Ofcourse they would delight in causing our first defeat. I argued the toss about the game being a must win for Hearts with a few bods in the work today, but they don't understand they are auld firm supporters after all and see the world through 30 odd championships each.

Celtic ominously won 5 - 0 against Motherwell, to keep the deficit to 3
Hibs beat Dunfermline away 2 - 1 to keep them within touching distance of 7 ( makes saturday a real 6 pointer as they say )
Rangers were 2 - 0 up against the woefull bottom side Livingston and managed to throw it away for a 2 - 2 draw. They slip back to 11 points behind Hearts. They are shite and they know they are.


A parting thought - the world has saw fit to raise the curse of the babe from the Boston Red Sox and if i am not mistaken have or are about to relieve the Chicago 'black' sox of their infamy with a world series win. Is it time that the world has chosen to slip it's axis in favour of Gorgie Road?

Get up at 10 on saturday morning and log on to http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/sportscotland/sportsound/ for full live commentary of the game and start praying.
The demand for tickets has meant Hearts are putting giant screens up at Tynecastle and are piping the game there directly, tenner a shot. I might have considered it if i had got in on my season ticket but - bugger that for a game of soldiers.

keep the faith
D