Andy Halliday insists a change of fortune could on the cards for Hearts after a career first and a slice of luck of his own against RFS.
The Jambos midfielder grabbed the second goal in a 2-1 Europa Conference League win over the Latvians which couldn’t prevent them from bowing out of the competition, but a hit and hope from the edge of the box found the net via a wicked deflection - and the 31-year-old revealed the wait for a bit of opposition assistance on the goal front was long overdue.
He said: “Listen, in these European games you need a bit of luck. I thought we got that against RFS, which is something that has deserted us over the last few weeks. I was actually moaning before the game that I’m 31 years old and I have never scored a deflection! That’s embarrassing! So getting that deflected goal was obviously that little bit of luck we needed.
“We had a couple of chances to make it a bit more comfortable, but they had chances as well and we had to dig deep. We’re down to the bare bones already, but sometimes those are the most satisfying wins.”
Hearts head to Dingwall tomorrow to face Ross County aiming to get their domestic form back on track after an alarming slump which has left them in the bottom half of the table in seventh place. Despite the European exit, there were encouraging signs against the Latvians and in defeat to Celtic last weekend that a tide has been turned and Halliday is adamant the display against RFS helped to get an increasingly disgruntled support back onside.
He said: “We wanted to make sure we came out flying and we did that. We wanted to make it uncomfortable for them, we knew that they’re a team who, if you give them space, they try and play and have players who can hurt you. I thought we pressed them well and created umpteen opportunities from the get-go.
“The fans were great, there were a couple of rocky spells in the second half but they stuck with us and that was key in getting the win. I think we probably won the two games we were expected to win. That being said, it was a tough task, RFS have had good results, getting shock draws with Istanbul and Fiorentina.
“I thought we came out of the traps flying and played some great stuff in the opening 25 minutes. But they showed they are a threat, they scored a wondergoal and had a couple of chances. So it’s good to get the win.”
Up until Thursday night, Hearts had managed only three wins from 15 games in all competitions but Halloday is convinced the return of key players and a run of consistency can turn the form book on its head. He said: “Last season we showed we are more than capable of going on runs ourselves, I remember we did that after the December/January period when we had some poor results. I think it’s important we get bodies back so we have a more settled team, we haven’t had that throughout the season.
“The majority of boys who played against RFS played against Celtic last weekend and we put in a really good performance, hopefully that’s the start of some winning momentum. The league has always been our bread and butter and it should be our main focus.
“We’re a team that tries to take things a game at a time and for most of the boys it has been their first taste of European football. We’re itching to get back at it, especially with atmospheres like the ones we have played in this season.”
Halliday is hoping to start building momentum against the Staggies and start closing the five point gap between themselves and third placed Aberdeen. “It’s a difficult league, it’s very competitive and I think a lot of teams have improved," he continued.
“We want to pick as many points as we can up to the World Cup break and close that gap if we can and get bodies back and have a real go at it after the break. I don’t think there’s any doubt we’re capable of doing that, hopefully starting this weekend, Ross County haven’t had the results they were expecting. We played them in the first game of the season and they were Barcelona for 45 minutes!
“So we know they have players who can hurt us, but if we turn up we’re more than capable of getting results, that’s for sure.”
