The missed opportunities began with a strange
scare on the Kilmarnock goal. Paul Hartley’s free-kick from deep on the
left swung in and over the bunched
attackers in the box. Everyone,
including Smith, watched motionless as it bounced up and rebounded off the
inside of the far post. (right) Gordon Greer reacted first to volley the ball
away.
The first real crime against goalscoring was committed 20 minutes in.
Gary Wales went round Robbie Neilson down the Kilmarnock left and pulled
it back for Peter Leven. The forward let the ball come onto his right foot
but his shot screwed horribly wide from 14 yards.
The first half ended with Hearts twice refusing to take the lead. First
Takis Fyssas’s cross from the left tempted Smith from his goal, but he was
stranded when Saulius Mikoliunas reached it first, hooking a perfect ball
back across goal from beyond the back post. Andrius Velicka pulled the
trigger, but Ford stretched in front of the striker and got enough on his
shot to take it over the bar. Then, after Hartley skinned Garry Hay and
found Velicka in the box, Smith made a diving parry that was cleaned up by
Ford under heavy pressure from Michal Pospisil.
After the break a wave of waste flooded this game. Every move ended
with someone holding their head in their hands or slamming an angry fist
into the grass. Mikoliunas’s volley across goal and wide from a tight
angle was perhaps the most difficult of the chances that came and was
gift-wrapped by Hay, who headed Andrew Driver’s cross up and at the
winger.
The prettiest move came next, Fyssas working a delicate one-two with
Hartley to get a look at Smith’s goal, but his low shot was pulled across
the target and missed the far post by inches. A minute later, Mikoliunas’s
shot was deflected by Greer’s awkward swipe, bobbling just wide in slow
motion as Smith stood wrong-footed in the centre of his goal.
Kilmarnock struck back by striking the bar, a fine counter attack
ending with Allan Johnston’s clipped pass into Naismith’s path. His heavy
first touch drew Gordon out, and the second was a stabbed shot that spun
up off the crossbar. Gordon got up fast to catch the ball before Naismith
could finish the job from point-blank range.
Hartley fought an entertaining battle with James Fowler in the middle
and won on points, escaping his marker on several occasions and carving an
opportunity from each one. His snap volley from 20 yards, drifting a
couple of yards wide at the end, was the next close call. Celtic have a
reported interest in Fowler, one of two to play for Kilmarnock despite
phoning in sick yesterday with the bug that has stripped Jim Jefferies’
squad to its bones. Even the club physio was sent home before the game.
Kilmarnock responded when Johnston chipped a perfect pass up and over
the Hearts defence. It took an age to come down and Naismith declined to
attempt a volley from the corner of the box when it did. His cross was
deflected to Leven, who pulled a left-foot shot wide.
With 20 minutes remaining Fyssas’s low cross was deflected into the box
where Ford blocked it to the feet of Christophe Berra. The centre-half
looked out of place with the ball at his feet in front of goal and allowed
Smith to get out and block with his legs before he could dig out a shot.
Six minutes later the keeper sprang to his left to make another fine save,
pawing away a header from Roman Bednar after Mikoliunas had nodded a
Hartley cross into the substitute’s path.
Then, finally, the two most heinous errors. First Bednar ran on to an
invitation of a through ball by Hartley. The striker’s first touch set him
perfectly for the finish, which was a side-footed shot that went up and
over the bar.
With four minutes to play, Johnston found the space behind the defence
again with another quarterback pass. Gary Wales (right) collected it and held off
Marius Zaliukas and Neilson but his left-foot shot slid past the far post.
In the end neither team deserved to lose!
Sandy's Match Pic's are
HERE
