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In the 28th round of the Scottish Championship on Sunday, Edinburgh's "Hearts" club, after a tough and intense battle, defeated the league's underdog "Livingston" at the end of the match and maintained an eight-point lead over the third-placed Glasgow "Rangers". Lithuania's national team striker Edgaras Jankauskas also contributed to his team's victory by scoring his fourth goal in three matches.
2 - 3
17` [0 - 1] Bruno Aguiar
59` [1 - 1] Richard Brittain
72` [1 - 2] Edgaras Jankauskas
77` [2 - 2] David Mackay
87` [2 - 3] Roman Bednar
The "Hearts" team was without team captain Steven Pressley and suspended defenders Julien Brellier and Paul Hartley. They were replaced by young Christophe Berra and new team acquisitions Martin Petras and Bruno Aguiar, while Deividas Cesnauskis and Edgaras Jankauskas were in the starting lineup. Injured Nerijus Barasa and Saulius Mikoliunas were not registered for the match.
Despite their poor position in the league table, the "Livingston" players led by new coach John Robertson started the match aggressively and threatened the opponents' goal several times, but it was the visitors who took the lead after a scramble in the penalty area caused Bruno Aguiar's shot to find the net past goalkeeper Roddy McKenzie.
In the middle of the field, both teams struggled to advance towards the opponent's goal, and when "Livingston" succeeded, Allan Walker's shot was saved by goalkeeper Craig Gordon. On the other end, R. McKenzie had to save a long-range attempt from M. Petras. The intense first half ended with the visitors leading 1-0.
The hosts once again started the second half more actively, and in the 59th minute, they managed to equalize the score - Richard Brittain's penalty shot flew past all players and into the "Hearts" goal. The Edinburgh team was a bit shaken, and C. Gordon had to save his team again from another A. Walker shot from close range.
In the 72nd minute, after a beautiful team combination, "Hearts" once again broke through upfront: Robbie Neilson set up D. Cesnauskis in a free position and after his excellent pass from the wing, E. Jankauskas headed the ball into the goal. Shortly after receiving a pass from E. Jankauskas, Rudi Skacel missed a hundred percent chance, as his attempt to deceive the goalkeeper was unsuccessful.
This was the last action on the field by the Lithuanian - he was replaced by Czech Roman Bednar, and in the 77th minute, the "Livingston" team once again managed to equalize the score when David Mackay's perfect shot from the corner of the penalty area flew into the far corner of the goal.
"Hearts" coach Graham Rix replaced a tired R. Skacel with Chris Hackett, while the injured D. Cesnauskis was replaced by Mirsad Beslija. Just after coming on, C. Hackett earned a penalty kick, and after it, M. Petras was very close to scoring from a few meters out, but his shot flew over the goal.
However, "Hearts" pressure finally paid off, and taking advantage of insecure defense, R. Bednar secured the victory with a precise shot that beat the opponent's goalkeeper. As the match was ending, C. Hackett almost scored after a pass from Bednar, but it no longer mattered, as the Edinburgh club still managed to secure three points.
