Hearts' European hopes were destroyed as they slumped to defeat at
Kilmarnock while rivals Aberdeen romped to victory over Rangers on the
final day of the Bank of Scotland Premier League season. This was
Killie's third straight 1-0 victory, to round a fantastic 5th place
finish in the 2006-7 SPL season.
Kilmarnock made it clear from the outset there would be no favours
from them, even if former Jambos boss Jim Jefferies was in the dug-out.
It may have been the last game of the season and Killie may have had
nothing other than professional pride to play for, but it quickly became
apparent the game would not be lacking a competitive edge.
Jefferies named the same strong side which recorded a 1-0 win over
Rangers at Ibrox last week, while Hearts made two changes following
their derby triumph over Hibernian, Ibrahim Tall and Jose Goncalves
replacing Christos Karipidis and Takis Fyssas.
Referee Bill Collum proved to be the hardest working man on the pitch
early on, brandishing the first yellow card of the game with just five
minutes on the clock.
Frazer Wright was cautioned for a cynical challenge on Saulius
Mikoliunas on the touchline, setting the tone for a no-holds-barred
match.
With
Europe on their minds, the first real chance fell to Hearts when Roman
Bednar burst through on goal but young Ryan O'Leary (right) did well to
intercept and clear the danger before he could pull the trigger.
The resultant corner did not provide much joy for the Jambos either,
with Tall nodding wide of the near post from a few yards out.
Kilmarnock's Momo Sylla then followed team-mate Wright into the
referee's book following an off-the-ball incident, with Mikoliunas again
the victim.
Tempers flared again and this time Kestutis Ivaskevicius was
cautioned for a trip on Sylla, before Sylla nodded wide from Gary
Locke's free-kick.
Hearts had another decent chance when a cross from the left landed at
the feet of Mikoliunas in front of goal but he swiped wildly at the
ball, missing completely and allowing goalkeeper Alan Combe to smother.
At the other end, Sylla lashed a thunderous drive just over from the
edge of the area, before goalkeeper Craig Gordon was called into action
to touch Aime Koudou's effort just wide.
The stand housing the Hearts fans, who had been so exuberant before
the match, suddenly fell silent, as news of Aberdeen's two-goal lead
began to filter through.
Mikoliunas then went to ground under pressure from Wright in the box
but there appeared to be little in the challenge and no penalty was
awarded despite the half-hearted pleas from the Hearts fans.
Kilmarnock made a change at the break, Gordon Greer making way for
Garry Hay, who had an immediate impact on the game.
Bednar turned Murray on the corner of the six-yard box before
unleashing the shot at goal but Hay threw himself in front of the ball
to block and keep the scoreline level.
Hearts had clearly been affected by the half-time scoreline at
Aberdeen and appeared to have lost their cutting edge in the second
half.
But Bednar still looked like the man most likely to open the scoring
for the Jambos - only to squander another opportunity by rifling over
from 10 yards.
Kilmarnock could have snatched the win with less than 20 minutes to
go when Wright connected well with Locke's corner a few yards out only
for his point-blank header to be held by Gordon.
The crime count grew as the game neared its conclusion, Christophe
Berra booked for a challenge on Naismith and Mikoliunas cautioned for
moaning about the yellow card.
Just when the game looked destined to end goalless, the referee
pointed to the spot when Stephen Naismith went down, claiming to have
been tripped in the box by Gordon.
Naisy stepped up for the spot-kick himself and kept his
cool to slot just wide of the fingertips of the Hearts goalkeeper,
ensuring a miserable end to an already disappointing day for the Jambos.
81 mins
