NEXT week is a different adventure, said Mixu Paatelainen. We're looking no further ahead than Wednesday's match against Motherwell, was the message from Csaba Laszlo.
Still, while both the Hibernian manager and his Hearts counterpart may wish to regard next Sunday's Scottish Cup match as unrelated to the scoreless draw in the league two days ago, there is evidently a strong connection between the two games. It is
a connection, moreover, which cannot be disregarded by either manager if they want to gain a crucial advantage at Easter Road in six days' time.
The teams will be very similar to the ones which fought out Saturday's stalemate at Tynecastle, and there is a limited number of tactical changes which the managers can adopt. What, then, will make the difference? What must each side do to give themselves the chance of settling the fourth-round tie at the first time of asking, and thus avoid a third Edinburgh derby this month?
The best thing Hearts could do, as they know full well themselves, is to get hold of a striker who can score. They had the better of the second half on Saturday, and hit the woodwork three times as well as creating several other decent chances. Christian Nade, who was again the lone front man in a 4-5-1 formation, has scored just one goal this season, and Jamie Mole, the other striker to have played most often, has also netted only once.
Presuming, however, that they are unlikely to sign a prolific hitman between now and Sunday, they can do little more than plug away at forging chances in the hope that one of them will eventually end up in the back of the net.
Gary Glen impressed when he came off the bench to take over the advanced midfield role, and as a natural striker he would give Laszlo the option of switching to 4-4-2. But Hearts' midfield has a well balanced look to it at present, and the manager would therefore be loath to disrupt it. He is thus likely to trust in Nade again, and to hope that his midfielders offer more of a scoring threat.
If Bruno Aguiar is fit to return that would be a big plus, as the playmaker has been in fine form. If Laryea Kingston finds a new club this week that would also be a bonus: the Ghanaian's lack of interest was all too apparent on Saturday, but his undeniable ability means he cannot readily be ruled out of consideration. In any case, Hearts were more of a threat when Deividas Cesnauskis came on for Kingston, and with the Lithuanian on one wing and Andy Driver on the other they have a good chance of pulling Hibs out of shape.
Laszlo will be forced into at least one change, as Robbie Neilson is suspended after picking up two bookings in the cup last season. Christos Karipidis, who played on against Hibs despite being injured in the first minute, is a major doubt, but Marius Zaliukas and Lee Wallace are expected to return after suspension.
Unlike Hearts, who have that league match at Fir Park to deal with, Hibs have a clear week. Even so, Paatelainen has some similar concerns to those which Laszlo has to deal with, as his side, too, played better after being forced into changes.
As centre-back and captain, Rob Jones is one of the first names on the Hibs team sheet, but on Saturday, with Steven Thicot playing alongside Chris Hogg, the heart of the visitors' defence looked more composed. It was interesting, too, to hear Yves Makalambay, the much-criticised goalkeeper, say he felt more in command of his box in the absence of Jones.
Omitting Jones may be too radical a move for Paatelainen to make, so his decision instead will be whether to drop Thicot, or move him forward into his usual midfield role instead of Lewis Stevenson. The latter was named man of the match by Setanta, but, while he got the better of Michael Stewart for much of the time, he was outshone by, among others, his team-mate Sol Bamba and the Hearts defender Eggert Jonsson, whose penalty-box tackle on Derek Riordan was the best seen by a Hearts player since Neilson's in the 2006 cup final against Gretna.
Jonatan Johansson, who made his Hibs debut at Tynecastle, will be that much sharper come Sunday and can be expected to start wide on the right again. Alan O'Brien, on the other hand, offered little on the left and could be the one to lose out in a recast midfield.
With Hearts likely to go for the same formula in the hope that they can bury at least one chance, the outcome of the game will probably depend on how exactly Paatelainen decides to redraw that midfield. As the teams effectively cancelled each other out two days ago, something has to be done to throw the cup match off balance. Playing Dean Shiels from the start and giving him licence to roam would certainly do that. Whether it would actually work in Hibs' favour, however, is far from certain.
The full article contains 872 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
