Lucky macot Vlad sees Hearts make Top 6

Regardless of how you may view our owner, there is a recent trend of his infrequent visits co-inciding with a Hearts win – and that trend continued yesterday against Kilmarnock, when a 1-0 victory was enough to see us clinch a Top Six place and also move closer to Hibs.

Like the Hibs game in March, the scoreline did not reflect the home side`s superiority in almost every function – I say “almost”, because a certain Mr Nade demonstrated once again that he simply doesn`t possess the ability to be forward. A poor touch and a poor striker instinct stood out a mile, while his workrate was a mere shadow of David Obua`s.

JJ was forced to play Lee Wallace alongside Marius Zaliukas at centre-back, with Eggert Jonsson and Ruben Palazuelos as the full-backs. All 4 were excellent, I thought. The rest of the formation was very attack-oriented, with sometimes only Kingston and Black covering the midfield. Incidentally, I thought Black was outstanding while Kingston looked impressive in the 2nd half.

Hearts goal came in the 32nd minute, while the crowd pondered the consequences of seeing Andrew Driver suddenly pull up while chasing a lovely pass on the left. As he slowly walked round the touchline with physio Rob Marshall, a fine run into the box by Eggert Jonsson ended with his shot being blocked, but Suso Santana was alert enough to control the bouncing ball and fire in a low shot to the keeper Bell`s right – although I’m sure the Kille keeper will be annoyed with himself for not reaching it.

We can only wonder if this latest injury dents Driver`s confidence to the extent that he may struggle to regain any run of form in the near future – which in turn would severely impact any sale value that Hearts might be eyeing.

Driver was replaced by David Templeton, who looked lively and was involved in several fine moves. Nade was replaced in the 2nd half by Scott Robinson, who had a couple of great opportunities to score. Mr Romanov will surely have enjoyed seeing these 2 youngsters looking quite at home in the first-team.

There was a good momentum about the team`s play overall, with plenty of movement and awareness – this is the sort of football fans want to see, and the display against Hibs, Rangers (1st half) and Killie will surely help season ticket renewals.

It was good to see our own keeper Jamie McDonald record a clean sheet, after losing 4 to Rangers. He made 2 excellent saves in the 2nd half against Kilmarnock, and is starting to look like a proper first-team goalie now. I`d give everyone a 7 or 8 rating – with the exception of Nade, who was simply out of his depth.

Things do seem to be looking up at Tynecastle these days – proper Hearts men in charge, encouraging noises from the regime, and a good crop of young players coming through. The scores from Hampden and Hamilton simply added a touch of humour to the day !!!