Heart of Midlothian FC

[Jager]

Heart Of Midlothian FC

Heart of Midlothian F.C. (most commonly referred to as Hearts) is a professional football club from Edinburgh, Scotland which plays in the Scottish Premier League. It is one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being rivals Hibernian. Lithuanian Russian businessman and banker Vladimir Romanov became the major shareholder of Hearts when he took over Chris Robinson's stake. The club is presently managed by Anatoly Korobochka and Stephen Frail.


Formation
Hearts were founded in 1874 and are reputedly named after a popular local dance hall, which in turn took its name from the novel The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott. The first Hearts Captain, Tom Purdie, stated that they may have played in 1873. They initially played at The Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall before moving to the Gorgie area in 1881. They moved to their current Tynecastle site in 1886.

The earliest mention of Heart of Midlothian in a sporting context is a report in the Scotsman newspaper from 20 July 1864 of the Scotsman vs Heart of Mid-Lothian at cricket. It is not known if this was the same club who went on to form the football club. [2]

Their badge is based on the Heart of Midlothian mosaic on the Royal Mile (which gave rise to the unsubstantiated legend that the club was founded by youngsters that had initially played street football, using the Heart of Midlothian mosaic as a centre spot, until dissuaded by the local police at the behest of the Church of Scotland fearing for the stained glass windows of St Giles Cathedral).


Rivalry
Hearts' traditional local rivals in the city of Edinburgh are Hibernian F.C. Fans' loyalty to a particular side often was for sectarian reasons (Hibs were initially founded as a charity side to raise money for the city's Catholic Irish immigrants located around the Cowgate area of the city, whilst Hearts drew their support mainly from the Protestant population). However, it should be stressed that the sectarian divide was nowhere near the extent of that found in Glasgow between Rangers and Celtic football clubs (see also Old Firm); indeed, Hearts lobbied hard for the admission of Hibernians (as they were initially called) into the Scottish Football Association, who initially forbade member clubs to play them (Hearts played several "illegal" matches with Hibs until the SFA acquiesced).

The first "official" derby match was on Christmas Day 1875, when Hearts beat Hibernians 1–0. It wasn't until their five-game struggle for the EFA Cup in 1878, that the two clubs became the dominant ones in Edinburgh. Hearts won 3–2 after 0–0, 1–1, 1–1 and 1–1 draws. The clubs' most notable meeting occurred in the 1896 Scottish Cup Final, played on 14 March 1896, Hearts winning 3-1 at Logie Green in the only final played outside Glasgow.



History
The Heart of Midlothian Hearts had considerable success in the early years of the Scottish Football League winning the league championship in 1894-5 and 1895-6. They also won four Scottish Cups in a 15 year period from 1891 to 1906.

The club then went from 1906 to 1954 without winning a major trophy before enjoying a decade of success between 1954 and 1963. During this period Hearts won the League twice, in 1957-58, with a record 62 points and 132 goals scored (Still the Scottish 'Top' League Record) and only 29 against in 34 matches, and in 1959-60. Hearts also won the Scottish Cup, in 1956, and the Scottish League Cup four times, in 1954-55, 1958-59, 1959-60 and 1962-63. This glorious period for the club contained many top, now legendary, names such as Alfie Conn, Sr., Willie Bauld, Jimmy Wardhaugh, John Cumming, Dave Mackay and Alex Young.

From the mid 1960s Hearts went into decline - like many Scottish clubs outside the Old Firm, they found themselves unable to compete with the wages English clubs offered top Scottish players - and with the advent of the ten team Premier Division in 1975 spent several seasons yo-yoing back and forth from the Premier League to the First Division & back again (a similar fate was in time to befall Hibs). However, the arrival of chairman Wallace Mercer - after the previous board finally resigned when Hearts failed to regain their Premier League status - led to a revival in the club's fortunes, with the team only failing to win the league in 1986 on goal difference on the last day of the season, and finishing runners up again in 1988.

The early 90s were reasonably uneventful for Hearts, as they struggled to settle on a manager. Within a 2 year period, Joe Jordan, Sandy Clark and Tommy McLean were all sacked. One of the only bright points in this period was the incredible run of 22 games in a row without defeat against arch-rivals Hibernian. The highlight is considered by many to be the 2-1 triumph in the Fourth Round of the 1994 Tennents Scottish Cup at Easter Road, with Wayne Foster grabbing the late winner.

In the following years the changing economics of football made it almost impossible for Hearts, or other Scottish clubs, to compete with the Old Firm, but in 1998 Hearts beat Rangers 2-1 to lift the Scottish Cup under the management of Jim Jefferies.


Fulltime scoreboard vs Braga to qualify for UEFA Cup group stagesIn recent seasons Hearts have usually been competing for third place in the Scottish Premier League, but in 2005-2006 they finished second. Since the Scottish Premier League introduced an end of season split into two groups of six, Hearts have been the only team other than the "Old Firm" to have been in the top six each season. They finished third in 2002-3 and 2003-4 and reached the inaugural group stages of the UEFA Cup in 2004-5, but finished bottom of their group despite a victory over FC Basel. During the 2004-05 season, they finished fifth in the league.

In 2004, then club CEO Chris Robinson announced plans to sell Tynecastle, which he claimed was “not fit for purpose”, and instead have Hearts rent Murrayfield from the Scottish Rugby Union.[3] This move was deemed necessary due to the club’s increasingly large debt. The plan was very unpopular with supporters, and a campaign, entitled ‘’Save Our Hearts’’, was set up to try to block the move.[4] But, as Robinson and his supporters had a slight majority of the club’s shares, a preliminary deal to sell the stadium was struck with the Cala property development company for just over £20 million.[5]


Vladimir Romanov era
In the midst of Hearts financial difficulties in late 2004, Russian-Lithuanian banker Vladimir Romanov began to be involved with the club in what was styled the “Romanov Revolution”. After Romanov began negotiations to purchase a large portion of Hearts’ shares, the impending sale of Tynecastle was called off, much to the relief of the majority of supporters.[6] In February Romanov purchased 29.9% of the shares, increasing his holdings to 80% by December and thus gaining full control of the club. Romanov also arranged for the £4,500,000 Hearts were due to pay the Scottish Media Group to be paid off by his investment bank. Romanov has said that his ultimate aim is for Hearts to win the Champions League. His early actions included bringing on former Rugby Union chief Phil Anderton as CEO in 3 March 2005. On 9 May 2005 popular manager John Robertson resigned, a move which was greeted with much dismay among supporters. Former Ipswich Town and Derby County manager George Burley was hired on 30 June to replace him.


As the season began, the combination of Vladimir Romanov's financial backing and the appointment of George Burley led many Hearts fans to believe that they could win the SPL championship in 2005-06. Signings such as Edgaras Jankauskas, Rudi Skácel and Takis Fyssas, allied to current stars Andy Webster, Steven Pressley, Craig Gordon, and Paul Hartley saw Hearts make an outstanding start to the season winning their first eight games, including a 1-0 win over reigning champions Rangers.

After leading the Jambos through ten undefeated SPL appearances, and guiding them to the top of the league table, Hearts and Burley parted ways on 22 October 2005,[8] just hours before their Premier League match with Dunfermline Athletic (Hearts won the match 2-0 under the control of caretaker manager John McGlynn.). A club statement after the game declared that the departure of Burley had been mutually agreed and that there were "irreconcilable differences" between Burley and the Hearts board. Throughout his short spell in charge rumours persisted about an uneasy relationship between Burley and Romanov, with Romanov having bought players without his consent. John McGlynn was put in temporary charge of the team following Burley's abrupt departure. During McGlynn's tenure of four games, Hearts lost their first league match of the season against Hibernian. Following this match, the chief executive Phil Anderton was dismissed, and the chairman, George Foulkes resigned in protest at Anderton's dismissal. Romanov's son, Roman Romanov, was appointed as chairman and temporary chief executive.

On 7 November, in a surprise move, Graham Rix was appointed as head coach. Hearts' title ambitions suffered a major setback when they lost 3–2 to Celtic on New Year's Day. Concern at the fairness of refereeing became a developing pattern with Romanov's Hearts, as there were major complaints after a controversial match with Rangers in the 2004/05 season where the referee Hugh Dallas awarded a decisive penalty late in the match on the basis of advice from his linesman Andy Davis. There were also complaints after the dismissals of Craig Gordon against Falkirk, Edgaras Jankauskas against Hibernian, and Saulius Mikoliunas against Rangers. Romanov then called for a replay of each of these matches, but this was refused and Romanov was rebuked by the SFA.

On 7 February 2006, reports from Hearts players surfaced indicating that Graham Rix had told players who were apparently disgruntled at being left out of the team before a match against Dundee United that Romanov himself was picking the team and "pulling the strings". While it was well-known that Rix was not in charge of player transfer policy, it had not previously been confirmed that he was also not in charge of selecting match squads.

The agent of Andy Webster, the Scottish international player, had indicated that Webster would not be extending his contract at Tynecastle, which was due to expire at the end of 2006/7 season.[10] In April 2006, Vladimir Romanov put Webster on the transfer list, claiming that he could not trust the player 100%.


Fulltime scoreboard in the Scottish Cup semi-final
Steven Pressley scores in the Scottish Cup final penalty shootoutGraham Rix was sacked as Hearts manager on 22 March 2006 along with the club's Director of Football, Jim Duffy, who had only been appointed one month previously.[12] Shortly afterwards, former FBK Kaunas coach Valdas Ivanauskas was appointed interim head coach of the first team until the end of the season.

A 4-0 win over Hibernian in the semi-final gave Hearts a place in the Scottish Cup Final on May 13. In a hard-fought cup final, Hearts triumphed over Gretna at Hampden Park winning 4-2 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw.

Towards the end of the season, a 1-0 win over Aberdeen on 3 May at Tynecastle guaranteed 2nd place and hence a Champions League second qualifying round place next year, making them the first Scottish club outside the Old Firm to play in the UEFA Champions League. Hearts' victory meant that their cup final opponents Gretna played in the UEFA Cup in 2006/07.

On 30 June 2006, it was announced that Valdas Ivanauskas had been appointed as head coach on a permanent basis.

Just days before the first SPL game of the season, Hearts were the only side in Scotland yet to have signed a player, contrasting with their 11 signings the previous January. This statistic worried the Gorgie faithful who had seen top players such as Rudolf Skácel (Southampton) and Andy Webster (Wigan) leave the club. However on the eve of the SPL season they announced the signing of Chile Striker Mauricio Pinilla on a season-long loan. PAOK Salonika's Christos Karipidis was followed by Tiago Costa, a full back from Benfica. The final week of the transfer window saw another transfer bonanza with a Lithuanian trio - Marius Žaliūkas, Kęstutis Ivaškevičius and Andrius Velička - bringing the tally of Lithuanian players at Tynecastle to seven. Hearts fans still anticipated the arrival of "two World Cup stars" but were left disappointed when the club announced that the final piece of business of the transfer window would be to bring top goalscorer Roman Bednář to the club on a permanent deal.

Hearts played their home 2006/2007 European Champions League games at Murrayfield Stadium rather than in their spiritual home of Tynecastle. A combination of Tynecastle falling short of UEFA requirements in terms of pitch size and hospitality facilities, and Murrayfield's greater capacity, meant that Murrayfield was the preferred choice for the Tynecastle board.

Hearts won their Champions League 2nd round qualifier against Bosnian champions Široki Brijeg 3-0 on aggregate (3-0 first leg, 0-0 second leg). In the first leg of the following round, Hearts were beaten 2-1 by AEK Athens at Murrayfield. The Greek side won with two goals in the last 5 minutes. Hearts faced a daunting task in the return leg in Greece, requiring to score at least twice in Athens' imposing Olympic Stadium to maintain their interest in the tournament. AEK won the second leg 3-0 against a Hearts side that had two men sent off, with three goals in the final twelve minutes. The loss remanded Hearts to a place in the UEFA Cup against Sparta Prague. The first leg of the initial Cup tie was a 0-2 loss at a muddy Murrayfield on 14 September. They were then eliminated at Prague on 28 September in a 0-0 draw.

During their failed European campaign Hearts' league form was inconsistent, with losses at Ibrox and to St Mirren at Tynecastle and victories at Fir Park (1-0) and Pittodrie (3-1).

On 23 October 2006 head coach Valdas Ivanauskas took a "two-week" break due to illness, with owner Vladimir Romanov saying "I have full confidence in Valdas and look forward to his return". Sporting director, Eduard Malofeev, replaced Ivanauskas for the two week period, making him Hearts' seventh manager in the previous 20 months.

On 27 October 2006, Vladimir Romanov warned his players that they would all be put up for sale if they did not win their match against Dunfermline Athletic the next day. Hearts captain Steven Pressley responded with a statement voicing the players' unhappiness at affairs at the club. At the pre-match media conference ahead of Dunfermline's visit, Pressley revealed that there was "significant unrest" in the dressing-room.[14] The game was drawn 1-1. On 13 November 2006, Pressley was left out of the squad for the match against Falkirk, while Paul Hartley, who flanked Pressley when he read out the statement, was dropped to the bench. On 19th November Pressley returned to the squad as an unused substitute in the 1-0 home defeat against Rangers. Hartley was given the captaincy for the game.

Hearts failed to win a game during Eduard Malofeev's tenure, with defeats at Celtic, and capital rivals Hibernian - a result which eliminated Hearts from the CIS Cup - and at home to Rangers. He remained as caretaker manager until 20 November 2006, when he left the club to pursue further coaching credentials. During Malofeev's brief tenure Hearts confirmed that Eugenijus Riabovas would take charge upon Malofeev's departure, but on 24 November Hearts announced that head coach Valdas Ivanauskas had returned to the club and would resume his duties as manager on 27 November.

On 9 December Steven Pressley and Heart of Midlothian parted company. Press releases attendant to this development stated that this was amicable but supporters may not be convinced. Pressley signed for Celtic FC shortly after, a move which took effect on the 1st of January. He captained his new squad to a 2-1 victory at Tynecastle on his first return to Edinburgh.

On 31 January it was announced that Paul Hartley had departed from Hearts for Celtic F.C. for a fee of 1.1 million pounds, which left Craig Gordon as the only member of the trio at the press conference to remain at Hearts beyond the January transfer window.

A 1-0 loss in the Scottish Cup at Dunfermline on 3 February, with Gordon on the bench, ended Hearts' chance to retain the trophy.


Craig Gordon - captainOn February 26, it was announced that Ivanauskas would change to a director of football role, with a new head coach to take over.

It was announced on March 2 that Anatoly Korobochka would leave his position as director of football to become the head coach.

[DavidMc]

Hearts v Hibernian
Monday 6th August
Scottish Premier League
Tynecastle Stadium

Hearts strikers Roman Bednar and Mauricio Pinilla miss Monday's Edinburgh derby through injury.

Midfielder Bruno Aguair is also sidelined, while Christophe Berra and Lareya Kingston are suspended.

Hibernian winger Alan O'Brien is battling an ankle injury and is thought to have only a 50-50 chance.

Fellow new wing recruit Filipe Morais is also struggling for full fitness and may not be included for the short trip to Tynecastle.



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Hearts squad: Gordon, Banks, Karipidis, Zaliukas, Goncalves, Wallace, Mikoliunas, Tall, McCann, Driver, Pospisil, Velicka, Beniusis, Cesnauskis, Neilson, Elliot, Palazuelos, Ksanavicius, Stewart.

Hibernian squad: Ma-Kalambay, McNeil, McCann, Gathuessi, Murphy, Hogg, Jones, Joneleit, Stevenson, Chisholm, Beuzelin, Kerr, Morais, Shiels, Zemmama, Fletcher, Benjelloun, Donaldson, O'Brien.

[cezaris_lt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS0rf8F40hM

Romanov boxing with Bednar.

Maybe someone know whether Beniusis play in star lineup?

[LAF]

Hearts 0-1 Hibernian

Hibernian won a frenetic first Edinburgh derby of the season thanks to a goal from new signing Brian Kerr after just two minutes at Tynecastle.

Midfielder Kerr, signed from Motherwell, headed home from close range following a cross by striker Steven Fletcher.

Hearts dominated much of the possession on their home ground.

But they created few chances and they had goalkeeper Steve Banks to thank for saving a fine David Murphy free kick.

Banks had started in goal for Hearts with club captain Craig Gordon having travelled to Sunderland for transfer talks.

Robbie Neilson took the armband, while striker Ricardas Beniusis and fellow Lithuanian midfielder Andrius Ksanavicius were given their debuts along with Michael Stewart.

Hibs fielded three summer signings - Kerr, goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay and striker Clayton Donaldson.

And Kerr marked his debut with a goal just inside two minutes.

Marius Zaliukas failed to prevent Fletcher delivering a cross following David Murphy's long ball to the left corner.

And, when Christos Karapidis could not cut out the ball across goal, the onrushing Kerr stooped to head home from eight yards.

Hibs were the more composed side as the game continued at a frantic pace.

Ksanavicius was playing just behind lone striker Beniusis, but they were seeing little of the ball.

Donaldson was booked along with Hearts trio Stewart, Neilson and Karipidis as the challenges flew in.

Stewart fired well over, while Zaliukas headed straight at Ma-Kalambay as Hearts failed to create clear-cut chances.

When they did create some space, left winger Andrew Driver drove well wide of the far post.

Hearts began to dominate possession after the break and Ksanavicius fired wide after making space for himself on the edge of the box.

But it was Hibs who forced the first save of the second half, with Banks pushing clear Murphy's curling free-kick.

Benji also threatened, nice footwork at the edge of the box allowing the striker to send in a drive a couple of feet wide.

Hearts substitute Michel Pospisil delivered a low drive on the turn, but it was straight at Ma-Kalambay.



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Hearts: Banks, Neilson, Zaliukas, Karipidis, Wallace, Mikoliunas, Tall, Stewart, Driver, Ksanavicius, Beniusis.
Subs: Bjornsson, Goncalves, Pospisil, Makela, Cesnauskis, Jonsson, Palazuelos.

Hibernian: Yves Kalambay, McCann, Hogg, Jones, Murphy, Donaldson, Kerr, Beuzelin, Stevenson, Fletcher, Zemmama.
Subs: McNeil, Benjelloun, O'Brien, Morais, Gathuessi, Chisholm, Joneleit.

Referee: S Dougal

BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Premier | Hearts 0-1 Hibernian

[skellysomerville]

Well thats the first game of the season over and nothing changes. Unless VR wakes and stops messing around Hearts will strugle to make the top6 after a performance like last night.

[DavidMc]

Gordon completes Sunderland move

Sunderland have broken the British transfer record for a goalkeeper by signing Craig Gordon from Hearts.
The 24-year-old Scotland international has signed a five-year deal, with the Black Cats paying up to £9m for him.

"He's a top goalkeeper and he will be a massive asset for us over the next few years," manager Roy Keane told the club's website.

It is understood that Sunderland, who fought off competition from Aston Villa, will pay an initial £7m.

The Tynecastle club will receive a further £2m, following a certain number of appearances.

And the deal overshadows the £7.8m Manchester United paid for Fabien Barthez in 2000.

Gordon trained with the Black Cats earlier this week and had agreed to travel to Villa for talks, but Keane has persuaded him that his future lies at the Stadium of Light.

Manchester City were also keen on talking to the player but missed out.

Sunderland had earlier abandoned hope of signing the Hearts captain after the Edinburgh club valued him at £10m.

But Sunderland and Aston Villa rekindled their interest last week after Hearts majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov indicated he would be willing to sell if Gordon said he wanted to leave.

Steve Banks was in goal for Hearts in Monday's Edinburgh derby defeat by Hibernian as Gordon headed south.

Will be good to see him develop in the premiership. This is good news for the Scottish national side as our number one keeper is facing some of the best strikers in the world.

[Trim]

Well, I don't know whether this is the best move for him.
I'm sure he could have moved to a bigger club.
However, I think he'll develop in the Prem, and get experience.

[DavidMc]

Aberdeen v Hearts
Sunday 12th August
Pittodrie Stadium

Aberdeen defender Richie Byrne is the only main absentee for boss Jimmy Calderwood as Hearts visit Pittodrie.

Craig Brewster and Karim Touzani could return for the Dons after missing out on last week's defeat at Dundee United.

Christophe Berra returns from suspension to play his first match as Hearts' new club captain.

Midfielder Laryea Kingston serves the final game of his ban, while Andrius Velicka and Eduard Kurskis are both available for the Edinburgh outfit.

Both players looked to be on their way out of the club earlier this week.

Steve Banks is expected to start in goal following former skipper Craig Gordon's £9m move to Sunderland.



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Aberdeen (from): Soutar, Hart, Diamond, Touzani, D Smith, Considine, Mair, McNamara, Severin, Nicholson, Clark, Foster, Young, J Smith, De Visscher, Lovell, Mackie, Miller, Brewster.

Hearts (from): Banks, Kurskis, Berra, Karipidis, Zaliukas, Goncalves, Wallace, Mikoliunas, Tall, McCann, Driver, Pospisil, Velicka, Beniusis, Cesnauskis, Neilson, Elliot, Palazuelos, Ksanavicius, Jonsson, Makela, Stewart.

[DavidMc]

Hearts v Gretna
Saturday 18th August
Tynecastle Stadium
Kick-Off 15:00

Hearts have failed to sign midfielder Stephen Hughes from Leicester City in time to face Gretna.

But playmaker Laryea Kingston is back in the squad following a two-game ban. Roman Bednar, Bruno Aguiar and Mauricio Pinilla remain sidelined.

Gretna may give former Real Mallorca defender Aurelien Collin his debut after losing eight goals in two games.

But defenders Ryan McGuffie and Martin Canning are long-term casualties and again miss out.


Interview: Gretna manager David Irons
Interview: Hearts coach Stephen Frail



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Hearts (from): Banks, Neilson, Tall, Berra, Zaliukas, Wallace, Mikoliunas, Kingston, Jonsson, Stewart, Driver, Palazuelos, Ksanavicius, Ivaskevicius, Kurskis, Karipidis, Goncalves, Cesnauskis.

Gretna (from): Fleming, Barr, Innes, Collin, Grainger, Osman, Graham, Jenkins, Skelton, Yantorno, McMenamin, Mathieson, Cowan, McLaren, Deverdics, Deuchar, Paartalu, Murray.

[DavidMc]

Hearts 1 v Gretna 1

Gretna picked up their first SPL point thanks to a plucky display against a frustrated Hearts at Tynecastle.
The home side took the lead thanks to a superb volley from Andrew Driver after good work by Michael Stewart.

Despite not previously threatening in front of goal, Gretna were level within six minutes as Craig Barr rose to power home a Gavin Skelton free-kick.

The home side failed to find a winner and were booed when they trooped off at full-time as Gretna deservedly hung-on.


Interview: Gretna manager David Irons

The home side made just the one change from the team that drew with Aberdeen as Audrius Ksanavicius replaced Driver on the left flank.

That meant that Ghanian international Laryea Kingston had to be content with a place on the bench as he returned from suspension.

Gretna gave a debut to Frenchman Aurelien Collin as they looked to stem the tide after a start to the season that had seen them concede eight goals in two matches.

The first half had plenty pace but very little in the way of clear cut chances.

It was the home side who threatened first inside 30 seconds as they sought their first win of the season.

Lee Wallace whipped the ball into the area and the unmarked Kestutis Ivaskevicius played it across the face of goal where Gretna's Paul Murray deflected it goalward.

Murray's blushes were spared though as Greg Fleming saved well.

Andrius Velicka went down in the box shortly after a challenge from Collin but referee Dougie McDonald waved play on.

As the first half wore on, Gretna defended in numbers and were seldom able to foray forward.

The visitor's only real chance of note in the first halfcame when Fabian Yantorno cannoned a free-kick off the wall as both teams drew a blank in the opening period.

In an attempt to change the course of the match, Hearts made a double change at half-time as Kingston and Driver replaced Jonsson and Palazuelos.

However, the substitutions did not change how well Gretna defended and they continued to frustrate their hosts - something that spread to the stands.

The goal the home support were looking for arrived on 73 minutes as Driver volleyed home into the roof of the net after good set-up play from Stewart wide on the left.

Gretna almost hit back immediately but Makela cleared off the line from Colin McMenamin.

The fact they were a goal down spurred the borderers on and they drew level against the odds with 11 to go.

Craig Barr rose to head home a Yantorno free-kick from the right flank after a Makela foul on Gavin Skelton giving Steve Banks no chance.

The Jambos huffed and puffed their way through the latter stages and it was the Black and Whites who looked the more likely to win it.

The home fans made their feelings clear at full-time, with Hearts still without a win after three matches.



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Hearts: Banks, Neilson, Berra, Zaliukas, Wallace, Jonsson (Kingston 45), Stewart, Palazuelos (Driver 45), Ksanavicius, Velicka (Makela 67), Ivaskevicius.
Subs not used: Kurskis, Mikoliunas, Karipidis, Goncalves.

Goal: Driver 73.

Booking: Driver.

Gretna: Fleming, Barr, Innes, Collin, Deverdics (Deuchar 74), Osman (Graham 45), Murray (Paartalu 69), Jenkins, Skelton, McMenamin, Yantorno.
Subs not used: Mathieson, Grainger, Hogg, McLaren.

Goal: Barr 79.

Bookings: Yantorno, Skelton, Deuchar, Barr.

Att: 16,407

Referee: D McDonald.

[DavidMc]

Whats the problem at Hearts? A terrible result for them today drawing at home to Gretna. They have still to win a game this season. Reports are saying that the Hearts fans are planning a demonstration next weekend against Romanov and want him to leave the club. Its no surprise because things at Tynecastle have got progressingly worse in the paast 18 months. When Romanov arrived, he made a lot of (ridiculous) promises to the Hearts support, they were going to be a force in Europe, win the Scottish League etc, but that was never going to happen considering the short patience he has with managers he appoints.

It will be interesting to see what happens at Hearts over the next few weeks, the supprort dont want him there. He has cleared out all their best players, some left for football reasons, others becuase the way he was running the club. Romanov has filled the Hearts team with second rate foriegners, mostly Lithuanian. Hearts have the potential to be a strong team once again, but if the way things are at the club continues, I dont see that happening for along time.