Hibs' Fletcher plays the role of derby villain

Hibernian 0,
Hearts 2.

HE could have been the hero, instead Steven Fletcher found himself cast in the role of derby day villain having left his team-mates unable to overcome the numerical disadvantage with which he had left them for an hour following the red card flashed in his direction after he had clattered Hearts skipper Christophe Berra.

But amid the recriminations which swirled around Easter Road after Mixu Paatelainen's side had made their exit from the Homecoming Scottish Cup, Fletcher himself was left nursing a serious sense of injustice at his early dismissal.

If his lunge at Berra could be considered a touch rash, it was clear his challenge was borne out of frustration, the striker having earlier scorned a golden opportunity to claim the game's first goal, his personal angst getting the better of him as he failed to control a simple ball.

Berra pounced, his own touch less than perfect leaving Fletcher with the belief he could regain possession, his tackle, alas, that of a forward, a split-second late but enough to catch the Gorgie defender.

Referee Craig Thomson had the best possible view, the official only yards from the incident and convinced he'd seen enough to reach for the red rather than the yellow card.

Television pictures, however, suggested Fletcher's feet were neither off the ground nor were his studs showing, the sight of Berra bounding back into the action following his statutory trip to the touchline, apparently leaving the home dressing room convinced that the Scotland stopper had done little to help his opponent.

It was, as Hibs boss Mixu Paatelainen insisted, the turning point in the match, the Easter Road side having by far enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, Sol Bamba's precision pass splitting the visiting defence and leaving Fletcher with only goalkeeper Janos Balogh to beat.

However, as in last week's derby at Tynecastle, the Hungarian, who faces an uncertain future with the cash-strapped Jambos, was more than equal to the task, waiting for the 21-year-old to take the ball onto his favoured left foot before throwing himself down to push it away from the danger area.

Fletcher had a further opportunity to threaten only to take the wrong option, laying the ball off to Lewis Stevenson to his right rather than the unmarked Derek Riordan on his other side, two incidents which undoubtedly led to what followed with just 30 minutes played.

"He leapt like a brown trout," suggested Paatelainen of Berra's reaction, the Hearts star countering that if he hadn't jumped he may have risked serious injury, an opinion which didn't wash with the Hibs manager who insisted there had been no contact whatsoever.

While that didn't appear to be the case, Paatelainen was adamant Thomson had over-reacted, observing that while his opinion didn't count: "For my liking it was never a sending off.

"Fletcher's foot touches the ground and he does not catch Berra at all. He jumps like a brown trout and makes things worse for Fletcher."

Insisting he wasn't going to go into Thomson's decision, declaring referees have a difficult job, Paatelainen proceeded to do exactly that.

Asked if he was disappointed Berra had appeared to make the most of the incident, he replied: "I was disappointed Fletcher was sent off for nothing.

"I saw the television pictures but at the time I had a good angle and I felt Fletcher touches the ground before he catches anything."

Describing Fletcher's challenge as a striker's tackle in trying to close down a defender, Paatelainen added: "You can see if the striker goes for the ankles, shin or over the ball to harm the player. This was not like that.

"I do not think it was even worth a yellow but if the official feels it was dangerous then perhaps it was worth a yellow but not a red."

Asked if Fletcher's dismissal had changed his game plan, Paatelainen retorted: "We didn't plan to play with ten men otherwise we would have started with ten."

But change the game it did although Hibs were again the authors of their own downfall, goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay, who had turned in an outstanding performance on the other side of the city eight days earlier, wandering far beyond his near post in pursuit of a loose ball heading towards Andy Driver.

As a result the big Belgian found himself in no-man's land as the winger picked out Christian Nade, and the French hitman scored his first goal in nine matches and only his second of the season.

For a side which hadn't found the net for 465 minutes it was just the sort of gift-wrapped offering they'd have dreamt of and one which, given their numerical superiority, they always looked like being able to retain.

It was practically Ma- Kalambay's last taste of the action, the youngster complaining of a tight hamstring which saw him replaced by Polish signing Grzegorz Szamotulski after the interval.

If Csaba Laszlo's team isn't one of great beauty it is, at least, well-organised, resilient and with the capability of making life tough for an opposition side who are trailing. From early in the second half it was clear they weren't going to surrender their lead easily.

Of course, a one-goal lead is always a fragile commodity, even against ten men, but Hearts used their advantage superbly, finding each other with ease as they stretched Hibs and kept Paatelainen's players pinned down in their own half for long spells.

Indeed, Balogh found himself virtually untroubled, a long-range effort from John Rankin his only save, and a simple one at that, to make, a statistic which won't make pleasant reading for Paatelainen given the opinion of most that his side contained the more dangerous forwards.

In such a predicament, Paatelainen was forced to gamble, the introduction of Colin Nish and Alan O'Brien in place of Derek Riordan and Jonatan Johansson having done little to stimulate the home fans, pushing the towering Rob Jones up front as an auxiliary forward.

But, as so often happens in such circumstances, the gap left at the back was there to be exploited, substitute Gary Glen evading the despairing challenge of David van Zanten and rounding Szamotulski to send Hearts strolling into the next round.

Paatelainen added: "Obviously we are massively disappointed. We started the match fantastically well, we totally dominated, passed the ball well and created problems.

"We could have, might have, should have scored before the turning point.

"I told the boys I was delighted, that's the way we want to start and play for the full 90 minutes, 11 against 11."

But, like the Hibs fans who rapidly departed the ground as Glen struck, Paatelainen was left reflecting on how one decision can change a game, the only consolation yet again being: "There's always next year."