SCOTLA N Do n SU N DAY

SPORT NOVEMBER 21, 2004 PREMIERLEAGUE LIVE 5 Airdrie take Lovering to their hearts McGinty lights way in Buddies’ grind

ROSS COUNTY 1 is far from insurmountable but able on it early on, but Airdrie Sean Higgins’ feet after great ST MIRREN 1 fensive foundations, who after times looked like a crowd scene when both John Martin and County’s immediatetask is took the lead in 16 minutes. play from Alex Burke. four months of being written off from a David Lean movie. Moussa Ouattara warmed the Docherty 40 og McGinty 57 pen simply tofind some confidence There was suspicion of hand- But the Diamonds’ assault and cheaply dismissed as early The second period appeared palms of Craig Hinchcliffe AIRDRIE UTD 2 and consistency. They are cap- ball by as the ball became relentless later in the RAITH ROVERS 0 season wonders, are still very to be shuffling along in the when really they should have Hardie 16; Lovering 87 able of dazzling phases of play was played into the box, Hardie half with defenderStuart much in the chase on merit. same pedestrian fashion until been burying what were glaring but showed little of it yesterday forcing it home at the far post. Malcolm rescuing County with ALAN GALLACHER Saints dominated from the Lloyd Young needlessly upen- openings. ALASDAIR FRASER in admittedly treacherously icy Airdrie for long enough three timely clearances. AT LOVE STREET outsetagainst a Rovers team ded Brian McGinty to gift St Mirren will just be happy AT VICTORIA PARK underfoot conditions. looked likeliest to add to the But just when it looked like only to happy to, as Jose Saints the opener in a moment with the points if not the some- It fell to Airdrie – with 14 of scoreline with Alan Gow’s cut- their luck had deserted them, POP warbler Darius Danesh Mourinho would say, park the of madness that would turn the what one-paced performance, ALEX McLeish made admiring the game’s 18 corners –to back setting up Coyle for a Airdrie grabbed aglorious mayhavebeen switching on bus in front of the goal, yet were game. The striker seemed to be and whilst you need to win ugly noises on hismidweek trip demonstrate they should be no- strikewhich StuartGarden second. McLaren’sperfectly- Paisley’s festive illuminations never overlythreatening going nowhere fast until at times during the course of a north to Victoria Park regard- one’s c ertainties f or a relegation smothered low. flighted corner found Paul Lov- last night, but for most Buddies despite having a host of chances Young’s mistimed challenge 36-game season this was the ing the ambition evident in the scrap.Far from it, in fact. Most Thebreak came the hosts’ ering in space at the near post to it will be the tremendous form to create chances. sent him sprawling. It was an John Merrick of ugly wins and club’s surrounding structures. of the creativity and nearly a ll of way, though, after 40 minutes. finish with a glancing header. and sustained title tilt of the Buddies forward Allan Rus- easy decision for referee Charlie against a better team would The Rangers manager was the pressure over long spells It took a great ball in by Winters Ross County: Garden; Robertson, Canning, local football team that will be sell was the man most likely to Richmond anda trouble free have been punished. sincere in claiming County came from the Diamonds. and apanicked Stephen Malcolm, McCulloch; McCunnie, Cowie, Rankin brightening the long winter have breached the Rovers rear- conversion for McGinty. St Mirren: Hinchcliffe, van Zanten, McGowne, (Adam 60), Burke; Higgins (McGarry 77), could “put a few SPL sides to There was real concern about Docherty raised his foot and nights and emitting a warm guard with aclutch of half A goal down Raith were Millen, Broadfoot, Lappin (Ellis 75), Murray, Reilly, Winters (Kilgannon 60). Subs not used: Mackay, Crilly (Paatelainen 56), McGinty, Russell (O’Neill shame” with facilities, but the the state of the pitch as play touched it over his own keeper McGarry, Stewart. comforting glow. Gus MacPh- chances, but hecouldn’t find a forced to come out of their shell 80). Subs not used: Woods, Gillies. club now face a considerable kicked off, despite volunteers and into the net. Airdrie United: Hollis; Docherty, McGowan, erson’s S t Mirren might lack the way past the fit again David and have a go for the first time. Raith Rovers: Berthelot, Ortiz (Mendy 29), McManus (W Wilson 51), Lovering; Roberts, M Davidson, Dennis, Barthlome, Millar, Young challenge in re-igniting hopes of spending all morning clearing Much better play by County Wilson, Hardie, McLaren; Coyle (Dunn 90), Gow. swaggerof the title-winning Berthelot. Gordon Dalziel’s Having belatedly found a (Ebanda 65), Raffell, Ouattara, Sacko, Martin. taking that final upward step. snow and ice. after 49 minutes sawAirdrie Subs not used: Barkey, Vareille, Dunn, McGeown. squad of five years ago, but this team were filing so many back forward gear Rovers will feel Subs not used: Pounoussamy, Malcolm, Tulloch. Falkirk’s 16-point advantage Neither side looked comfort- keeper Lee Hollis smother at Referee: C Mackay is a team built on miserly de- into their defensive third it at they could have got back on par Referee: C Richmond Dismissal sparks Robertson’s words haunt him Falkirk fightback

FA L K I R K 3 on a flurryofcornersand a sustained spell of pressure. McBreen 33, 77; Latapy 69. as Hearts finish Well beaten Falkirk, by contrast, looked ST JOHNSTONE 1 uncharacteristically out of Hannah pen 6. sorts, their early play strewn with misplaced passes and TONY BROWN AT WESTFIELD lapses in concentration in front H E A R TS 0 of a near sell-out at Westfield. IT IS widely received within Portuguese striker Pedro M OT H E RW E L L 1 football circles that it can some- Moutinho almost mustered an Foran 27 pen times be more difficult to play equaliser with 22 minutes on against ten men than 11. the clock, but his goalbound SIMON PIA AT TYNECASTLE However this match proved half-volley was charged down evidence to the contrary as by Saints’ Ross Forsyth. SEXY football or realpolitik? It Falkirk capitalised on the red Falkirk were g radually begin- is too soon to say what the card referee Hugh Dallas ning to break into their stride Hearts support would prefer flashed at St Johnstone’s Kevin and duly notched an equaliser but the choice was on offer as Rutkiewicz a fewminutes in the 33rd minute. Scott the Tannoy announced:“The before the interval. Mackenzie’s charge down the legend has returned.” Had the defender resisted the right took him to the byline and John Robertson was formally temptation to petulantly tread his cutback was placed low into back in the body of his kirk with on Falkirk’sDaniel McBreen the far corner of the netby his first appearance at Hearts the league leaders may have McBreen– the Australian’s spiritual – if not temporal h ome struggled to collect all three second goal in successive for much longer – and with him points against a Saints side matches for his new club. he’s brought anew system. worthy of the 1-1half time Then St Johnstone were dealt Whereas the Levein years were score. a severe setback five minutes stolid, the Robertson era has As it was, Falkirk kept their before the break when been prefaced with media hype chase for the title on course as Rutkiewicz was sent off. as one with a style which fits his theymade up for a sloppy first- The home side emerged a playing profile as a cavalier in half performance by turning in much livelier outfit after the club of roundheads. afar more polished display interval and talismanic striker Indeed it is worth reflecting after the break. Darryl Duffy almost added to for a moment on what Falkirk manager John his season’s tally of 17 goals Robertson achieved as a player. Hughes brought himself back when he danced his wayinto Histime on the pitch was le- into the starting line up at the the penalty area before sending gendaryand remarkable, espe- expense of Neil Scally.But the a shot across the face of goal. cially as he never had support of visitors opened the scoring in Theadvantage of the extra the calibre of a Conn or a Ward- the sixth minute courtesy of a man galvanised Falkirk, and haugh ashad Willie Bauld. penalty needlessly conceded by Russell Latapy scored the home Neither did he have the mag- Falkirk goalkeeper Alan side’s second with a cute effort nificence of the Famous Five Ferguson. Peter MacDonald past Saints goalkeeper Allan alongside him as he almost was running away from goal McGregor.McBreen sealed the doubled the derby goalscoring when Ferguson raced from his victory in the 77th minute when record of Gordon Smith, the goal and upended the St John- he scored with a low drive from Prince of Wingers. stone striker.Referee Dallas just inside the box after Latapy So it would be surprising if he immediately pointed to the had dispossessed Hannah. had aprosaic approach to the spot before booking the goal- Falkirk: Ferguson, Lawrie, McPherson, game. Indeed he lived up to the keeper,whose next task was to Mackenzie, Campbell, Hughes, O’Neil, Moutinho, billing with an unfamiliar,at- pick the ball from his net after McBreen, Latapy, Duffy (Nicholls 78). Subs: Scally, Sharp, Marshall, Hill. tacking 4-3-3 formation against David Hannah had converted. St Johnstone: St Johnstone – McGregor, Tait, Motherwell with Ramon Saints were buoyed having Forsyth, Hannah, Rutkiewicz, Maxwell, McCann, Sheerin (Mahood 77), Moore (Hay 69), Pereira and Mark de Vries on inflicted such an early blow up MacDonald, Hardy (Webb 45). either side of Dennis Wyness. It on the division’s t itle favourites, Subs: McConalogue, Cuthbert. did not quite work as Hearts but were unable to capitalise Referee: Hugh Dallas. suffered their first home defeat from a side outwith the since 2002. However, there is no shame in losing to this Motherwell side who already outwitted Potter’s wheel of Hearts at FirPark this season. They were composed and Terry Butcherhas got them back on the road after a black October fortune for Clyde as five successive defeats have been turned into three wins in a row without a goal conceded C LY D E 2 Just before the half-hour and nine scored. mark, though, Hamilton were Sheridan 35; Potter 90 There was also asmidgen of rewarded for their efforts by a luck in getting apenalty that H A M I LTO N 1 superbly worked goal. A clever saw Hearts reduced to ten men Tunbridge 29 flick by Tunbridge found Brian with more than an hour to go, McPhee in space on the right while they were denied a claim STUART FARQUHAR flank, who sent over aperfectly when Pereira tumbled on the AT BROADWOOD angled pass for Tunbridge to hour mark. slide in and prod home. However it must be said it BROADWOOD may not be any- The second half saw was fairly obvious early on that one's first choice to spend the Hamilton tighten their grip on some were struggling to get to coldest Saturdayafternoon of the game with some slick grips with Hearts’ newsystem, the season so far,but Clyde and passing, and they nearly took a especially De Vries playing Hamilton served up just sensational lead after 58 wide and unused to so much enough drama to ward off the minutes when former Clyde ball to feet, which mayhave ex- onset of frostbite. man David Carney burst into plained his lack of concentra- Allan Maitland, on his first the box from the left and tion when Alan Maybury visit to the Cumbernauld flashed astinging drive just skipped down the wing to pick stadium since controversially over the bar. him out unmarked in the box resigning a s Clyde manager two At this stage Hamilton were after six minutes. De Vries years ago after afall-out with looking by far the more likely to could only nod down gently to- the club's directors, was denied score, and the impressive wards the relieved Gordon the opportunityto find out if Carney again had the Bully Wee Marshall,who could hardly be- revenge is indeed a dish best fans out of their seats when he lieve his luck as he did not have served cold as his Hamilton weaved his wayunchallenged to even havetostretch his side were cruelly beaten in the from the halfwayline with ten hands. The striker realised his dying seconds of an open and minutes remaining, but he gaffe immediately and sunk his intriguing encounter. threw away all his good work head into his hands. It hadlooked as though the with a weak trickling shot. In contrast, Mayburywas hard work and tidy passing of In the dying moments of in- relishing the abilityto hold the Maitland's well organised side jury time, Hamilton's efforts ball and pass and run rather was going to prove enough to were laid to waste after a nasty than pumping long balls for- hold the home side to a 1-1 draw tackle by substitute Iain Fyfe on ward and was unluckynot to Head over heart: Robbie Neilson and David Clarkson are committed to the ball at Tynecastle, but the home side came undone in the end. Photograph: Jon Savage and deny them all three points. Clyde substitute Craig Bryson score two minutes later. Pereira But a late goal from John Potter about 40 yards from goal was had held off his man and had got in amix-up letting Jim the box. Hearts were all over the and gave a real outburst after down to ten, but Motherwell’s and shot. parried was enough to snatch a win for punished by the referee with a slipped the ball back to the full- Paterson find Marc Fitzpatrick place and it was leftto the the game. defence was unrelenting. and the ball took a bounce be- Clyde after being bested by the freekick and a yellow card. back, who weaved his wayin to in open space only 12 yards out, hapless Maybury to cut inside Neither did the home sup- Meanwhile they were waiting fore reaching Foran, who side- visitors for much of the game. Perhaps irked by the leniency of the box and side-footed his shot but he scooped the ball over. He to cover and clip Corrigan with port, booing off Rowbotham at to pick Hearts off on the footed it off the inside of the Hamilton started the game the referee in not dismissing past Marshall only for the ball too, like De Vries, sunk his head his shoulder. It was profession- half-time. counter attack and should have post. Hearts would have been brightly, and after just one Fyfe,Clyde punished the to ping off the base of the post. into his hands. ally enough done for him to Hearts bravely stuck with gone two up in 52 minutes dead and buried, two goals minute unlocked the sluggish visitors themselves Darren But the pressure was begin- However Hearts’ three-man have got away with it on an- three up front despite being when JimPaterson cutinside down with only ten men. Clyde defence when a low cross Sheridan’s freekick picked out ning to tell on the Motherwell midfield was also struggling to other day,but referee Row- Further controversy awaited from ScottTunbridge was Potter just yards from goal with goalkeeper when he spilled adapt to a more measured botham correctly pointed to the as Hearts were twice denied a missed by Steven Convery, and time to turn and prod the ball ’s free-kick from 25 tempo with a build up of passes spot. Then he went for the red penalty, first when Pereira Clyde keeper Bryn Halliwell past McEwan to steal the three Maybury Corrigan yards unnecessarily in 11th as opposed to banging the ball card. Rules are rules and Pereira Quinn tumbled in front of Marshall had to look lively and snap up points and keep the pressure on McAllister minute. up front to the target man, and Mayburydid look like the last Foran and then when Steven Craigan the ball before Steven Thomson table-topping Falkirk. Meanwhile Motherwell had their rhythm was interrupted man. Foran snatched up the Webster Leitch Craigan pushed De Vries, a decision could connect. C l yd e : Halliwell, Mensing, Bollan, Wilson hardly sniffed the ball, but a which suited Motherwell’s ball and smartly side-footed to Gordon Kisnorbo Wyness Marshall even Butcheradmitted after- The visitors were again un- (Balmer 64), Potter, Sheridan, Gilhaney, Gibson sign of a maturing side is that counterattack and led to the his right while Gordon went the Fitzpatrick wards they were lucky to get lucky not to break the deadlock (Bryson 67), Wilford (Conway 84), Walker, Harty Pressley Partridge Subs not used: Bradley, Morrison TerryButcher has installed opening goal in the 27th other way. Clarkson away with. after 15 minutes when sloppy Hamilton: McEwan, Arbuckle, Hodge, patience in his players and their minute. Hearts had benefited by ex- Hartley De Vries Meantime, acynic maysay if Clyde defending teed up Ricky Paterson Thomson, McLaughlin, Carney (Fyfe 84), first chance came in the 21st David Clarkson dropped actly the same rule against Neilson you are going to play sexy foot- Waddell, whose 20-yard shot Carrigan, Waddell, Tunbridge, Convery Hammell (Corcoran 64), McPhee minute, albeit after Robbie back into midfieldto win the Dundee recently,but their ball you have to have the goods fizzed and crackled over the top Subs not used: Walker, Irons, Jellema Neilson and Steven Pressley ball and spring Corrigan into managerdid not see it this way in the first place. right-hand corner of the bar. Referee: Calum Murray