DUNFERMLINE 1 - 3 HEARTS

Maybe we were being just a tad hard on Iain Brines after his refereeing performance on Saturday!

Well I mean, if the standard he is aspiring to is the level of performance given by Scotland’s ‘top referee’ Hugh Dallas then Brines doesn’t seem to be doing much wrong. To describe this clown (Dallas) as a ‘top’ referee, after the kind of error-strewn performance he delivered in what was a fairly high profile fixture, is laughable. The rulebook according to Dallas dictates that any Hearts player – especially his darling Pressley – is perfectly entitled to grapple, manhandle or bear hug any Pars player out of the way, however should a Pars player dare to get tough or physical with any Hearts player…oh, no no, we can’t have that can we! Although Dallas seemed intent on dishing out more yellow cards than Vogts did caps, the recipients – except caveman Nielsen who was allowed at least six or seven cynical challenges before seeing yellow – all seemed to be Pars players. But then what more do expect up against the cousins of William!

Going into the fixture without first team regulars Andrius Skerla, Greg Shields and Darren Young (the latter two suffering late call-offs) manager Davie Hay was forced to shuffle the pack, with the defensive line-up suffering the most upheaval. Youngster Aaron Labonte replaced the injured Greg Shields at right back to make his first start of the season, with Ritchie Byrne once again replacing Skerla in the back four – Ritchie taking up his familiar left back role with Scott Thomson moving to centre-half. Keeping it in the family, Derek Young replaced his brother Darren in the heart of the Pars midfield, with Thomas Butler returning to the forward line in the final change to the side – Billy Mehmet dropping to the bench.

The Pars were to begin the match on the back foot with the defence, Aaron Labonte in particular, looking nervous, Kevin McKenna and Derek Wyness causing problems early on. The Canadian defender-cum-striker was to prove dangerous once again when his driven shot was blocked by the Pars defenders. The home side were to offer their first foray on the Hearts goal in the 10th minute when a neat move involving Wilson and Butler resulted in a Brewster shot spinning wide of Craig Gordon’s left-hand post. The veteran striker – partnering Tod up front – was to come close once again three minutes later, driving a fierce shot over the bar after getting on the end of a Tod knock-down.

The game was to take on a more open flavour with both attacks finding joy went streaming forward, Stillie doing well to block an Alan Maybury drive in the 16^th minute before a flowing Pars move, involving Young and Brewster, resulted in a neat Barry Nicholson effort floating just over the Scotland NO.1’s cross bar. Disaster was to strike in an almost bizarre fashion soon after, in the 34^th minute, when the visitors – backed by a decent away support – took the lead thanks to a serious concentration lapse in the Pars defence. After a long Robbie Nielsen throw-in was knocked on by Kevin McKenna, a static Pars defence failed to deal with the unmarked Andy WEBSTER who looped his header over Derek Stillie and into the Pars net.

With the Pars players clearly rocked by the goal, Robbo’s side could have further stretched their lead soon after when Gary Mason picked up the first booking of the match after taking down Dennis Wyness on the edge of Stillie’s eighteen-yard box – Hearts midfielder Paul Hartley – not exactly a favourite amongst the Pars fans – saw his drive well-saved once again, by Derek Stillie. The Pars were to hit back minutes later with Thomas Butler bringing out an excellent save from Craig Gordon. After receiving an Andy Tod knock-down, Butler took a touch before curling a fierce right-footed effort towards the Gordon’s top left-hand corner, the Hearts keeper doing well to dive to his left to keep the Jambos’ lead intact going into the break.

The Pars emerged from the half-time break with a slightly more Calderwood era-esque shape to the side – the Pars lining up in a 3-5-2 formation with Andy Tod returning to his familiar defensive role alongside Thomson and Wilson, full-backs Byrne and Labonte adopting more attacking roles in the Pars midfield with Derek Young partnering Brewster up-front. After standing in the freezing cold for quarter of an hour or so, it was nice to see a bit of common sense return to the Pars setup after all these months.

With the Pars players looking far more comfortable and confident with the amended formation, it was the visitor who were to threaten first in the second period, with midfielder Paul Hartley taking advantage of defensive dithering – a common occurrence in the Pars games nowadays – to burst through one-on-one with Derek Stillie, the Pars keeper rescuing his team for the umpteenth time this season after turning Hartley’s driven effort wide of the post. The Pars were to come close soon after when Labonte – enjoying much freedom on the right-hand side of the midfield – picked out Derek Young, Young’s low effort proving a fairly simple take for the young Hearts keeper.

The tide was to turn in the 59^th minute however, ironically with the withdrawal from play of Craig Brewster – the striker limping off with a calf injury. The arrival to play of Billy Mehmet was to prove the turning point – at least for a little while – for the Pars, with the youngster grabbing his elusive all-important first goal of the season. Less than sixty seconds after the youngster’s introduction into the field of play, MEHMET was to get on the end of a Derek Young cross to send a volley crashing towards goal, and despite getting a hand to it, Craig Gordon was to spill the ball into the net to send the small Pars support into raptures.

With the confidence flowing around the Pars side they were to be brought down to earth with a sickening blow only six minutes later, when Hun Dallas awarded Hearts a controversial penalty – is it ever anything else with Dallas, just remember the Dundee Utd game a month or two before. After a chaotic goalmouth scramble, Kevin McKenna appeared – when I say appeared, I mean it was blatant to anyone not called Dallas – to foul Stillie, before Hearts defender Robbie Nielsen took a dive over Ritchie Byrne’s outstretched leg to win the visitor’s an ill-deserved spot kick. Paul HARTLEY stepped up to drill the penalty home to regain the visitor’s lead, Stillie only managing to get a hand on the ball. Robbo’s side were close to putting the game beyond any doubt six minutes later when Kevin McKenna missed a close range header, only for Gary Mason to be forced into a last-ditch tackle to deny Joe Hamill minutes later.

Growing increasingly desperate in their attacking moves, the Pars were to come close with a decent opportunity shortly after, thanks to some excellent build-up playing started by Scott Wilson. After a powerful forward surge, Wilson picked out substitute Simon Donnelly who, in turn, sent a first time ball into the on-rushing Barry Nicholson. Barry Nic’s first time shot proved little trouble for Gordon with the midfielder struggling to find his balance at the crucial time. The game was put beyond any doubt with only six minutes remaining after the visitor’s grabbed their third of the evening. With Paul Hartley waiting to swing in a corner, youngster Joe HAMILL hovered dangerously on the edge of the Pars box – a tactic repeated throughout the game by the visiting side – with not one Pars player anywhere near the midfielder. Needless to say, Hartley sent the corner straight to the feet of the Hamill and the youngster sent a placed effort flying into the top corner of the Pars net signaling the end of the tie as a contest, aswell as the signaling the cue for many Pars fans to desert the, already scarcely populated, home end.

I’m going to sound like a stuck record now but here. You can blame the ref all you want – and by god it’s easy to pick the bones out of a Hugh Dallas performance – yet once again the spotlight must fall on what was, yet another, poor Pars performance. Devoid of any real intelligence, vision or character, it once again proved brutal viewing for the small band of home supporters who had wasted the grand sum of £12, despite already having forked out god knows how much on a season ticket.

The performance – so disappointing that most Pars fans had deserted the ground before the final whistle – was perhaps best summed up by the third Hearts goal. With not one Pars player covering the edge of the box, Hearts midfielder Joe Hamill seemed to be allowed all the time in the world to stroke the ball home. With the ball in the net, the majority of the Pars players stood accusing each other with no-one seemingly willing to accept responsibility for the goal. Although the performance was impressive in flashes, the display as a whole was a wholly uninspiring affair with the majority of the Pars team performing far below their capabilities. The only true bright spots for the Pars were the performances of Scott Thomson, Scoot Wilson – both fairly commanding at the back – and Thomas Butler, with Butler once again eager to take players on. Special mention however must go to Andy Tod who, despite looking awkward and out-of-position when leading the Pars forward line, looked assured and confident when returned to his usual centre-half role, giving a good account of himself at the heart of the Pars defence. However in truth, these were only a few bright lights in an utterly dismal night for anyone Pars related.

After paying £12 to freeze your nads off and witness yet another dire match, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Pars fans could maybe start to desert the side in droves. But then again, we’re Pars fans and we should be used to this kind of drivel. When Saturday comes, the optimism levels rise once again and we’re ready to witness another Pars win. Although, in truth, you just can’t imagine that Saturday’s fixture up at Pittodrie will be nothing else other than a right good doing for the Pars!

Oh well, I never wanted to win the ‘Diddy’ cup anyway…second bottom will do for us this season with this current management team in place!!!

Man Of The Match – SCOTT THOMSON – A very competent display by the skipper who continues to grow in confidence after his injury lay-off.

PARS – Stillie 6, Labonte 5, Byrne 6, Wilson 7, Thomson 8, Derek Young 5, (Donnelly) 5, Mason 6, Nicholson 6, Butler 7, Brewster 6, (Mehmet 59) 7, Tod 7.