Absence of key men no excuse says boss

The Tynecastle manager, Murray Balloch, was a forlorn figure at the end of this Central Taxis Premier Division match in which his young side had been beaten by a battling Selkirk team who refused to give in.

Selkirk scored their two goals either side of half-time and despite Tynecastle's Wayne McIntosh pulling them back into contention with 20 minutes left, they could not beat the impressive John Dodds in the visitors' goal a second time.

The Souters now sit in third position in the top flight and, if they maintain the form they showed against Tynecastle, then they will be a difficult team to take points from.

Balloch refused to use the excuse that he was missing ten recognised first team players. "We did not deserve to take anything from the game because out there on the park nobody wanted to make it happen," he said. "We showed no desire to get on the end of balls - even when we played with three up front towards the end. I am totally gutted and very disappointed. Now some of my older and more experienced players have to have a real look at themselves."

The game started at a good pace with both sides committed to passing the ball in attack-minded formations and Tynecastle's John Gilbertson was the first goalkeeper called into action when he gathered a Grant Gass 25-yard free-kick near the front post.

At the other end a Liam Young cross was held by Dodds under pressure before Selkirk almost took the lead when a Des Sutherland shot was blocked and from the rebound he crossed the ball to Gass, whose header was stopped on the goal-line by the alert John Williams.

Ryan Ferguson then fouled Sutherland and Gilbertson again did well to hold Craig Pinnons' 20-yard free kick. Gass did have the ball in the net for Selkirk but the referee adjudged that it had already crossed the bye-line.

In the final minute of the first half Selkirk took the lead from the penalty spot. Young brought down Jason Cockburn who was in the act of shooting and Jason Inglis stepped up to drill the spot kick low behind Gilbertson.

Tynecastle came close to equalising five minutes into the second half when a Ross Elliot shot was cleared off the line by Scott McKenzie and immediately play switched to the other end where Paul Hossack won a corner for Selkirk. Jay Wilson fired over the cross and Cockburn flicked the ball to the back post where the diving Hossack powered a low header into the net.

However, Tynecastle responded in the 68th minute when a ball from Williams over the top of the Selkirk defence found the unmarked McIntosh who skilfully lobbed the ball over the exposed Dodds and into the net from the edge of the penalty box. The momentum of the game changed slightly in Tynecastle's favour and Selkirk had to defend gallantly to deny them an equaliser with McIntosh going close with a 20-yard shot which skimmed the crossbar.

Selkirk held on to pick up all three points and record their third successive victory in the Premier Division.

Paul Brownlee, the delighted Selkirk manager, said: "We knew before we came to Edinburgh that Tynecastle had talented players, especially their striker Wayne McIntosh, and our plan was to nullify his threat by cutting off the supply of balls to him. I'd like to say that tactic worked although at times in the first half I thought that we were a wee bit naive.

"I thought that our back four played well but our midfield was a bit off the pace and we needed more creativity although overall I cannot complain. It certainly has been a good start to the season and the confidence within the dressing room is high."

Tynecastle's Balloch added: "We did not compete for balls, there was no talking and I cannot believe that was the same Tynecastle team who had won the previous two games against Heriot-Watt. To be fair to Selkirk they worked hard and showed us how to play as a team, not as individuals. Hopefully this will be a wake-up call for many of our players."

Tynecastle goalscorer McIntosh said: "It just did not happen for us and although we were missing key players you cannot take anything away from Selkirk who, at times, were running all over us. We need to learn, and very quickly, from this game and stop conceding silly goals."

Tynecastle: Gilbertson, Young, Paterson, Ferguson, Williams, Elliot, Mearns (Edmunds 58), Arthur, Devlin, McIntosh, McCormack (Jones 66). Subs: Robertson, Dobson, McMillan.

Selkirk: Dodds, McKenzie, McManus, Inglis, Pritchard, Wilson, Hossack (Noble 84), Gass, Pinnons (Hardie 77), Cockburn (Hope 80), Sutherland. Subs: Stephen, Milven.

Tynecastle 1

Selkirk 2