Hearts 1-0 Hamilton

I had actually totally forgotten that there was full Premier League fixture card on this midweek. In fact, it was as late as Monday night that I realised – ‘oh s**t – we’ve got a home game against Hamilton on Wednesday!’, and if that initial reaction seems disappointingly negative, believe me it’s nothing in comparison to the footballing philosophies that 12,000 or so hardy souls witnessed last night.

Quite simply this was the most boring football match I’ve attended this season. I’ll concede that it never promised to be a classic, but with the exception of the encouraging performance of Christian Nade in attack, there really was nothing about the Hearts showing last night that gave any real cause for optimism. Indeed, when Nade was substituted just after an hour to a loud chorus of ‘boos’ from the stands (he did look as though he’d taken a knock, but if he was taken off for any other reason it’s a scandalous substitution by Csaba), that was basically the end of Hearts as an attacking force in the match – I seriously cannot think of any moves put together subsequently that had any purpose whatsoever. How bad is that from a side hosting opponents who were promoted from a lower division last season, regardless of who was unavailable?

To be fair to Hamilton Accies, after a ropey opening period they asserted themselves very well on the night. Adopting the sort of aggressive approach to their play that us Hearts fans can only fantasise about, for long spells in the second half they were able to dominate the midfield by bullying their hosts onto the backfoot – very similar to the tactics employed at Tynecastle recently by both Kilmarnock and Celtic in fact.

However for all of their considerable endeavour, you couldn’t really say that Hamilton seriously troubled the Hearts defence too often, even if they get themselves into good positions at times. They did get in behind Berra and Zaliukas a couple of times though, with one header going over the bar from just outside the six yard area that really should have hit the target, and another that was too weak and close to Janos Balogh to seriously threaten. Apart from that though, most of their good work was in the central areas of the field.

As for Hearts, well they started off brightly enough, and when Nade put them ahead after just six minutes we foolishly thought we might be in for a morale-boosting goal-fest. Sadly this was not to be forthcoming, but Nade clearly gained much confidence from his goal and was a constant problem for Hamilton throughout the half. His goal had been well-taken after it initially appeared as though he’d lost his way – taking a neat flick from Bruno Aguiar, he got in behind the defence but soon took a heavy touch……it looked as though the ball was getting away from him, but at the last minute he lunged forward to squeeze the ball past goalkeeper Cerny for a good opportunist goal.

A few minutes later Nade nearly scored a spectacular second, when from a grounded position he somehow managed to get a shot in with his back to goal that fizzed narrowly past the post.

Hearts weren’t playing as fluently as they had been in the early part of the season but their play was still patient and composed at times. However the only goal threat was Nade, and later in the half he was at it again when he hammered an angled shot at goal that ‘keeper Cerny could only beat straight back out. The ball eventually fell back to Nade who once again made excellent contact, but this time his shot was well gathered by Cerny.

David Obua was making his comeback from injury last night, but unfortunately the colour of his boots (a hideous shade of green!) drew more attention than his actual performance. Having said that though, he did nearly score an excellent goal just before half time when, after a Lee Wallace cross from the left went behind him, he fired an overhead kick just over the crossbar. That apart though, he was pretty anonymous.

Half time 1-0

Early into the second half we saw the best piece of football of the evening when a neat move sent Aguiar clear down the right, and his searching cross perfectly found Nade in the penalty area. Sadly on this occasion though, the Frenchman seemed to arrive a fraction of a second late and his eventual effort ended up in the top section of the Gorgie Stand.

A combination of anger, bemusement and dread filled the stadium when Nade was withdrawn for the beleaguered Jamie Mole, and as already mentioned in this article, that was pretty much that from an entertainment point of view. All that was left was to endure a ‘Joe Jordan’s Hearts’-style sitting on the lead-like performance with everyone apart from Mole back in deep positions, the curious sight of Robbie Neilson playing in midfield, and last but by no means least, Dougie McDonald doing what he does best – managing to spoil a game that really did take some spoiling!

On the subject of Mr McDonald, it was quite comical watching the reactions of the Hamilton management team on the touchline after some of his baffling decisions. Billy Reid was every bit as animated as Csaba out there and will just cause at times – it’s often said that McDonald does his best to make sure that Hearts struggle in matches, but last night he was just plain awful for both teams, and in the end it was just one more thing to compound our frustration. Still, a Hearts win in a match that Dougie McDonald referees is something of a collector’s item, so perhaps we should be thankful for small mercies……!

Poor stuff though – MUST do better.

Player Ratings

Balogh 5
Not completely convincing – likes to punch crosses a bit too much for my liking and nearly let through a soft near-post effort in the first half. More solid in the second though.

Jonsson 6
Generally had a pretty solid game at right-back. Was beaten a couple of times but managed to recover well, and seems to be improving in this position.

Wallace 6
Continued his better form of late.

Berra 7
Best I’ve seen him possibly all season – adopted a ‘safety first’ policy at all times which is exactly what a player like him should be doing. Solid.

Zaliukas 6
On the end of a couple of nasty challenges but overall I thought he did much better than of late.

Palazuelos 5
Linked up well with Aguiar a couple of times but generally too weak to make much impact.

Obua 4
With the exception of one overhead kick in the first half, he contributed virtually nothing.

Driver 4
Largely anonymous.

Karipidis 5
Like Palazuelos, found it tough going against Hamilton’s aggressive tactics.

Aguiar 6
Some nice flicks and turns, but needs to learn to stay on his feet more. One fantastic second half cross that gave Nade a chance.

Nade 8
Great all-round performance from the one-man attack. Took goal well in the end and unlucky not to have a couple more. Great feet when surrounded by opponents at times too.

Mole 2
Ran around a lot but ultimately did nothing.

Neilson 2
Played in midfield and it showed.