© EuroFootball.com
Despite the Christmas holiday, intense battles of the 21st round took place in the Scottish "Premier" league on Tuesday. The impressive thriller was won by the "Lithuanian" "Hearts" club, whose goals by Edgaras Jankauskas and Saulius Mikoliunas helped defeat "Hibernian" in the mixed and tense Edinburgh derby, while the leader "Celtic" played a dramatic match ending in a draw against "Dundee Utd".
In the ranks of "Hearts," captain Craig Gordon returned for important matches against a table neighbor and city rival, while the injured Andrius Velicka was replaced in the starting lineup by the recovered Czech Roman Bednar. All other Lithuanians, except the injured Deividas Cesnauskis, as usual, took to the field from the beginning of the match - in defense Nerijus Barasa and Marius Zaliukas, in the midfield Saulius Mikoliunas, and in attack Edgaras Jankauskas.
Already in the first minute, the visitors from the "green" part of Scotland's capital had a good opportunity, but Abdessalam Benjelloun, who received the ball in the penalty area, missed the shot from 12 meters. This was a significant mistake for "Hibernian," as in the following "Hearts" attack, E.Jankauskas won the battle in the "second floor," the ball reached R.Bednar, and he directed the ball into the goal from close range.
In the 15th minute, Chris Killen hit a shot straight at C.Gordon, and in the "Hearts" counterattack, S.Mikoliunas set up R.Bednar one-on-one with a precise pass, but the Czech striker failed to beat the goalkeeper Zbigniew Malkowski. A few minutes later, "Hibernian" forward C.Killen had a hundred percent chance, but he missed the goal after entering the penalty area.
Later in the first half, the attacks subsided, and both teams engaged in a fierce battle in the middle of the field. The game livened up only after the break, and in the fourth minute of the second half, "Hearts" doubled their lead - after a foul against S.Mikoliunas, P.Hartley took the penalty kick, and the ball rebounded to him, and E.Jankauskas rushed in first to score an easy goal.
However, such a "Hearts" advantage did not last long, and in the 54th minute, after a corner kick, C.Killen headed in to reduce the deficit for "Hibernian," and after playing just over an hour Dean Shiels fell in the penalty area after a collision with Nerijus Barasa, and the referee awarded a questionable penalty kick. D.Shiels took the penalty kick himself, and although he managed to equalize the score, the out-of-control "Hibernian" keeper brought down "Hearts" goalkeeper Craig Gordon and was sent off the field.
The numerical advantage allowed "Hearts" to restore their lead, and head coach Valdas Ivanauskas replaced E.Jankauskas with another Lithuanian, Andrius Velicka. It was the latter who passed the ball to the penalty area in the 70th minute, and S.Mikoliunas, rushing in first, scored the third goal for the hosts with a great shot into the top corner of the goal, causing a real frenzy at the "Tynecastle" stadium.
However, the match did not end there. "Hibernian" players tried to equalize with ten men, and as the match approached its end, they almost did it, but defender Steven Whittaker's shot from rebounding off both posts of C.Gordon's goal did not end up in the net. The "Hearts" team held on and secured an important victory in memorable match, increasing their lead over "Hibernian" below them to four points.
Two points ahead of "Hearts" is the "Rangers" club, which will play on Wednesday, but for now it has been overtaken by the confidently winning team "Aberdeen." The Aberdeen club met "Kilmarnock" at home and after early goals by Chris Maguire and Barry Nicholson, as well as a late goal by Steve Lovell, defeated "Kilmarnock" eleven, who scored a consolation goal in the penultimate minute by Steven Naismith.
A tense match took place in Glasgow, where the leader "Celtic" faced the mid-table team "Dundee Utd." The visitors unexpectedly took the lead in the 17th minute through David Robertson's headed goal, and in the second half "Dundee Utd" surprisingly doubled their lead after a penalty kick converted by Collin Samuel at the right place at the right time.
However, the defending champion "Celtic," which in 2006 did not lose a single match at home, fought to the end and in the 78th minute, young Darren O'Dea, left completely free, headed the ball to give the hosts hope, and just a few minutes later goalkeeper Derek Stillie scored an impressive goal from the penalty area by redirecting Shunsuke Nakamura's shot. In the final moments of the match, "Celtic" had a chance to snatch a victory, but D. Stillie blocked Kenny Miller's breakthrough, and on a second attempt, Derek Riordan hit the post.
The round was particularly unsuccessful for the absolute outsider "Dunfermline," who lost at home to "Motherwell" 0-2, and after the victory of "St Mirren" by a narrow margin against "Falkirk," now lags behind by six points against "Inverness," currently in the penultimate place and played one less game.
Results of the Tuesday matches in the 21st round:
3 - 2
3' [1 - 0] Paul Hartley
49' [2 - 0] Edgaras Jankauskas
54' [2 - 1] Christopher Killen
61' [2 - 2] Dean Shiels (11m.)
70' [3 - 2] Saulius Mikoliūnas
62' Dean Shiels ("Hibernian") sent off the field
1 - 0
67' [1 - 0] Simon Lappin
3 - 1
6' [1 - 0] Chris Maguire
9' [2 - 0] Barry Nicholson
87' [3 - 0] Steve Lovell
89' [3 - 1] Steven Naismith
0 - 2
26' [0 - 1] Marc Fitzpatrick
79' [0 - 2] Scott McDonald
80' Jim Hamilton ("Dunfermline") sent off the field
2 - 2
17' [0 - 1] David Robertson
58' [0 - 2] Collin Samuel
78' [1 - 2] Darren O'Dea
80' [2 - 2] Shunsuke Nakamura
League table:
