Niemi's blockade

Dargo (76min)

HIS performance yesterday is sure to reignite speculation regarding his rather precarious future in Scottish football, but the Hearts beancounters should scour the Tynecastle sofas, have a Gorgie-wide whipround, and use any money left over from Colin Cameron's debt-clearing sale to Wolves to keep Antti Niemi at the club.

The Finnish goalkeeper has emerged as their answer to Andy Goram, somewhat ironic considering he was brought to these shores by Walter Smith to eventually succeed The Goalie but was never given the chance to show his true worth at Ibrox. His goal under siege for the majority of the match, Hearts' loss would have been of landslide proportions had it not been for the intervention of the man linked on a bi-weekly basis to a reunion with countryman and one-time Rangers team-mate Jonatan Johansson at Charlton Athletic.

After twice performing miracles on his goal-line to thwart the hosts, Hearts' rearguard finally gave way under incessant pressure from Kilmarnock with Craig Dargo producing a matchwinning performance in his first start of the season. In doing so, he has virtually ensured his place in the starting line-up for Thursday's UEFA Cup first-round, first-leg tie against Viking Stavanger, of Norway, one Kilmarnock will prepare for with renewed belief.

''It will be my first match in Europe and I'm really looking forward to it, especially now that I have my first goal of the season behind me,'' said Dargo. His manager, Bobby Williamson, was full of praise as the striker's perseverance during a frustrating afternoon paid off. ''He took his goal tremendously well and even though he has not played for a while I knew he would not take long to get back into things. He's naturally fit anyway.

''It crossed my mind that we might not get the goal after Niemi pulled off two fantastic saves then a few refereeing decisions went against us, but we deserved the win.''

Marshall celebrated his one-hundredth appearance for Kilmarnock, against the team with whom he was once affiliated, with a clean sheet but it was Dargo who stole the show with a display which belied his lack of match sharpness.

The former Raith Rovers striker, who came off the bench in last week's 2-0 defeat against Aberdeen, joined Di Giacomo in a high-speed attack. He should have marked his return with an early goal after Di Giacomo slipped the ball into his path but he got himself in a right old fankle as he attempted to let the ball run in front of him.

A shambles of a start, strewn with misplaced passes, sclaffed clearances, and ridiculously ill-timed challenges suggested a long afternoon ahead. The match - and a muted home crowd - came to life midway through the first half when Kilmarnock were awarded a free-kick 20 hards out.

Antonio Calderon swung a sweet left-foot strike towards the top corner and watched in disbelief as Niemi clawed the ball away from the line with his right hand while clutching the rigging with his left to provide extra leverage.

The subsequent billowing fooled the fans into believing they had scored, and the Finn's wonderfully unorthodox save was the shape of things to come. Determined to garner a tangible reward for their efforts, Kilmarnock continued to outmanoeuvre the dishevelled visitors but could not find a way past arguably the best goalkeeper in the country.

An Ally Mitchell cross was headed towards the danger area by Chris Innes and, as Dargo hurtled headlong towards the ball, the celebrations had already begun. Niemi, though, had other ideas and even though he had committed himself to a despairing dive, he managed to flick out his right foot to divert the danger.

Even the Killie lot were compelled to applaud such breathtaking brilliance, however grudgingly. ''I still don't know how he got to it, he was absolutely brilliant,'' said Dargo.

With nothing to show for their almost total domination, Killie left the field in a state of shock following Niemi's heroics and there was a growing air of uneasiness among the Ayrshire aficionados as they feared their side would pay for their failure to capitalise on the vast majority of possession.

Indeed, Hearts were a more sprightly bunch after the interval, no doubt the result of a few choice words from their notoriously hard-to-please manager.

Unhappy with the lack of production in a three-pronged attack, Levein sacrificed the pace of the largely ineffective Andy Kirk for the experience and unpredictability of Stephane Adam.

Their resurgence petered out, though, and after much huffing and puffing, Killie eventually blew Hearts' straw house down 14 minutes before the end. James Fowler surged upfield beyond the mannequin-like maroons and Andy Webster's timely tackle only served to put the ball into the path of Dargo, who chipped over a for once helpless Niemi.

''I'm disappointed because I don't think we managed a shot on goal but Antti was incredible again,'' said Levein.