THE sense of trepidation among Hearts supporters ahead of Sunday's visit to Easter Road was only closely matched by the same fans' re-established belief in the Edinburgh derby's aftermath.
Csaba Laszlo may not have enjoyed the win which would have won him precious backing from maroon-clad punters, but the full-time ovation afforded to the Hungarian and his players hinted that a victory of sorts had been won.
Laszlo, hitherto never o
ne to accentuate negatives in public, actually supplied quite an admission when conceding he was "not so confident" before the trip across the city. With that in mind and given the bristling nature of Hearts' performance, it is difficult to argue against the fact it was them, and not Hibs, who emerged from Sunday's game with the more credit.
Perhaps tales of Hearts' recent demise had been greatly exaggerated. A dismal display in exiting the Co-Operative Insurance Cup at the hands of Airdrie United had been partly forgotten as Hearts won at Hamilton, three days later. Yet a subsequent defeat to Falkirk, scrappy victory over Inverness, humbling at Tannadice and home loss to Kilmarnock ensured external pressure had built up towards Laszlo for the first time. Quite how the manager felt as Steven Fletcher edged the hosts in front within 80 seconds of Sunday's kick-off is therefore anyone's guess.
Laszlo's upbeat post-match mood was understandable. Hearts, whose stomach for a battle has been questioned, combined an unwillingness to fold amid early Hibs' pressure with no shortage of fine football.
Those who had been unimpressed by not only the pace of Hearts' play but their apparent inability to sufficiently adapt to their new manager's formation – 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1, depending on your outlook – would have been pleasantly surprised. Strangely, those of whom little was expected came to the fore with one of them, Christos Karipidis, specifically hailed by Laszlo.
"Karipidis, at the moment, is the discovery of the year in the No 6 position," said Laszlo of the defender he has converted into a holding midfield player. "He had a very confident game and this is what I need.
"This young team, with the confidence they showed on the field, can be a very good team. Lee Wallace and Andy Driver are under 21, there is also Eggert Jonsson, and Michael Stewart was a leader in the team.
"Also Christophe Berra, for his age, did a fantastic job. A lot of times he has asked me about his role as captain. If this team can stay together for one or two years, we can be a very good team, definitely."
Conversely, Laszlo would have been concerned by the first-half showing of his goalkeeper, Marian Kello. The Slovakian, one of few success stories for Hearts in recent weeks with a string of commanding displays, was overtaken by nerves before the head clash which led to his afternoon's work being curtailed. But as if to emphasise this was Laszlo's day, Janos Balogh stepped in to produce as heartening a debut as anyone could have reasonably expected.
The towering Balogh, who lost his place at Debrecen after the Hungarian outfit's refusal to sell him to a Serie A club prompted a row, is likely to keep his place for Aberdeen's visit to Tynecastle on Saturday.
There is a similarly strong chance his loan spell will be extended beyond the turn of the year.
Stewart and Christian Nade were worthy of their manager's words of praise. Stewart, more often through a frustration at his team-mates' shortcomings rather than malice on his own part, has a tendency to let occasions such as those at Easter Road get the better of him. Not so this time around; the fact he was not booked may hardly seem pertinent, but represents tacit illustration of his blossoming maturity under Laszlo. "The first time I saw Michael Stewart in a game, I knew he had leadership qualities," explained the former Ferencvaros manager. "He talks a lot but not aggressively, just confidently."
Nade, meanwhile, emphasised the very work ethic which has been absent during his troubled time at Hearts. If the Frenchman continues to flourish, Laszlo's technique of adopting a paternal approach to the striker who has endured his share of family turmoil in the past can be highlighted as a genuine success story.
Mixu Paatelainen has highlighted more basic points of interest as Hibs face a testing trip to Celtic Park on Saturday. Hearts' midfield dominance was a key aspect of the derby, with Paatelainen keen to stress individual shortcomings were perhaps more a part of that than his own decision only to play three men in the heart of the field against Laszlo's five.
"We must concentrate on our passing game," said the Finn. "The defenders must take more care with their passing as well, because we are outnumbered in midfield. At times, our passing was a little careless."
The full article contains 833 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
