HEART of Midlothian face retribution from the Scottish Football Association after a handful of their supporters ran on to the pitch at Tynecastle last night to confront Hibernian's matchwinner Derek Riordan as he celebrated scoring the only goal of the final Edinburgh derby of the season from the penalty spot.
In a match which produced few highlights in terms of creative football, the contest proved hugely controversial once referee Steve Conroy had correctly awarded a spot kick when Christos Karipidis hauled down Riordan.The forward converted the penalty
in front of his own supporters, sending Marian Kello the wrong way, and then ran away to celebrate in front of the Hearts fans. The sight of their arch-rival's most high-profile player scoring the only goal in the 78th minute for a 1-0 victory was too much for several of them in the Wheatfield stand. One confronted Riordan and someone from the stand threw a coin at Ian Murray, the Hibs captain. Robbie Neilson, the Hearts' captain, was among those who intervened to prevent an unsavoury moment escalating into something even more provocative.
More interested in talking about the part he'd played in beating Hearts, Riordan made light of the threatening behaviour from supporters. "I was terrified," he said with a smile. "I was celebrating and a few of the fans came on. It's an emotional game. They were obviously too angry we beat them.
"But I've never seen that at Tynecastle before."
Riordan added: "We had a lot of players injured and suspended and came here to do a job."
Hearts managing director Campbell Ogilvie, who is also a vice-president of the SFA, promised the club would launch an investigation into the incidents. "The club will fully investigate the incident," he said. "We will take the necessary action against any supporter found guilty of an offence. Irresponsible behaviour will not be tolerated."
Hearts have a code of conduct for spectators which will see anyone convicted of offences for misconduct handed life bans from Tynecastle.
According to Lothian and Borders police, two males were arrested and will appear in court today. All told 15 spectators were ejected, ten by club stewards and five by the police.
Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen was asked for his reaction to the mini-invasion. "I was surprised to see that," he said. "I was surprised by the small number of stewards on that side because of the derby atmosphere. I wasn't really worried. I always feel our players are quicker and fitter than their supporters."
The pitch incursion added a dark cloud to what was already a miserable night for Hearts. Seeking a win which would have edged them closer to a place in next season's Europa League, Hearts delivered one of their most disjointed performances of the season.
Lacking fluency in midfield and a cutting edge up front, the Gorgie side rarely threatened to break their recent run of goalless performances. On the other hand, a Hibs side patched up with reserves because of suspensions and injury, produced a battling display which seized all three points. Happy to snap at the heels of the Hearts midfielders and deny them space, the diminutive visitors produced an exuberant display worthy of commendation.
In spite of all the setbacks of the night, Hearts remain in third place because of the 1-1 draw between Dundee United and Aberdeen at Tannadice. Even so, Csaba Laszlo was less than thrilled by the display of his players. "I must say sorry to the fans – this was the worst performance of the season from my team," he said.
"The performance was very bad. But you cannot look back too much, you must try and look ahead."
Laszlo apologises to fans for 'worst performance' of seasonHEARTS manager Csaba Laszlo didn't spare his players from the shortcomings exposed in a lacklustre display against Hibs last night which he branded as the team's "worst performance" of the season. He also apologised to the club's supporters for letting them down.
Laszlo felt his men may have fallen into the trap of underestimating their opponents because of all the pre-match talk of suspensions and injuries at Easter Road. "The performance was very bad, definitely, and the result also," the manager lamented. "But we have the next game on Tuesday (against Aberdeen at Pittodrie] and we must look to do better. I must make an excuse to our fans because this was the worst performance from my team this season.
"If you ask why, maybe, and this is only my opinion, maybe some of our players were happy not to see a few of the very important Hibs' players on the field. Perhaps they thought they would have an easy game.
"I'd told them this would not be true. It was painful when you have one shot at goal against you and that goal shot was the penalty. This is not to make excuses, but we were one against one (at the penalty ] with no one behind to secure the long ball and eliminate the danger. But I must congratulate Hibs on their performance."
Laszlo rejected any suggestion that Christos Karipidis, who brought down Derek Riordan for the penalty and was dismissed for his challenge, may have allowed his thoughts to stray to what the future holds for him at Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus next season. "Definitely not," he insisted.
The manager knows Hearts, who haven't collected three points in the SPL since defeating Kilmarnock 3-1 on 4 April, must recapture the winning touch at Pittodrie or risk vacating third place in the league.
As things stand, Hearts are a point clear of Dundee United and five points ahead of Aberdeen. "We must go to Aberdeen, do better, and maybe win," he said.
Knowing he will need to find a replacement for the suspended Karipidis next week, Laszlo expects to partner Eggert Jonsson with Marius Zaliukas against Aberdeen. Jonsson, who gave away a lot of possession in midfield against Hibs, was replaced before half-time to help accommodate a tactical switch with Christian Nade joining Calum Elliot in a 4-4-2 formation.
