Hearts 2-0 Gretna

A first-half double from Andrius Velicka consigned ten-man Gretna to their ninth league defeat on the road as Hearts eased to victory in the capital. 

The Lithuanian striker continued his good run of form with an early strike and a second from the penalty spot after being felled by Danny Hall, who was later dismissed.

It had been twelve days since Gretna’s last game and they looked out of practice in the opening stages as the home side made a pulsating start.

Velicka fired a warning shot in the first minute when he broke the offside trap and rounded Greg Fleming before hitting the side-netting from a narrow angle.

But moments later he made no mistake when Michael Stewart threaded the ball through to him on the left side of the box. From 15 yards, he unleashed a rising shot across Greg Fleming into the far corner of the goal to give Hearts the lead.

The Black and Whites began to find their feet though and Kenny Deuchar came close to an equaliser ten minutes later.

John Paul Kissock, one of four loan signings who made their debut in a youthful side at Tynecastle, found Gavin Skelton on the edge of the box and he chipped the ball to far post where Deuchar headed narrowly over the bar from close range.

The big striker was involved again, helping Kyle Naughton’s long throw into the path of Aurélien Collin, whose brave header was saved by Steve Banks. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, this signalled the end of his game as he twisted an ankle in the process. After lengthy treatment he tried to continue but it was to no avail and he was replaced by Craig Barr.

The enforced change disrupted Gretna’s rhythm and the home side began to take control. Greg Fleming produced a terrific save to keep out a Christos Karipidis header on 25 minutes after he connected with an Andy Driver cross.

The recalled keeper then did well to touch a low shot from Ruben Palazuelos past his post and was grateful to see Driver fire over the bar after he found space in the box.

But Hearts doubled their lead three minutes before the break when Hall brought-down Velicka in the area as he collected a pass from Ksanavicius. The goalscorer picked himself up and drilled the resulting penalty past Fleming into the bottom left-hand corner.

Gretna enjoyed a good spell of possession after the break and Mickael Buscher called Banks into action with a powerful shot from a tight angle after a twisting run through the box.

However, any hopes of a comeback were diminished on 65 minutes when Hall received a second yellow from referee Charlie Richmond for a foul on Ksanavicius.

The Edinburgh side looked to take advantage of the extra man and substitute Saulius Mikoliunas almost added a third when through on goal but Greg Fleming showed good reactions to block his effort.

Mikoliunas was claiming a penalty moments later after going down under a challenge from Chris Innes, although Richmond correctly ignored the appeals of the Lithuanian.

Velicka came close to his hat-trick in the closing stages when he raced clear of the Gretna defence and dragged a shot narrowly wide of the far post.

He did manage to get the ball in the net again before the final whistle, thankfully though, the offside flag came to Gretna’s rescue.

Hearts: Banks, Berra, Palazuelos, Velicka, Neilson, Karipidis, Ksanavicius (Elliot 77), Stewart (McCann 83), Goncalves, Cesnauskis (Mikoliunas 70), Driver. Subs not used: Basso, Wallace, Zaliukas, Beniusis. 

Gretna: Fleming, Hall, Naughton, Collin (Barr 22), Innes, Griffiths (Meynell 59), Murray (Wilkinson 77), Skelton, Buscher, Deuchar, Kissock. Subs not used: Krysiak, McGill, Deverdics, Makinwa. 

Star Man: John Paul Kissock
The Everton youngster produced an encouraging display on his first loan appearance and carried the threat to Hearts. He offered energy and enthusiasm, showing an excellent touch and an array of skills. With Yantorno ruled out for the remainder of the season, Davie Irons will be hoping there is more to come from the 18 year-old.

Attendance: 16,138
Referee: Charlie Richmond