Well, Hearts managed to score at Tynecastle today but so did Gretna, as both sides settled for a point. It was probably what the plucky visitors deserved, although from Hearts, yet again, there was precious little bite in the final third, meaning much work is still to be done. As of last season, Hearts appeared unable to beat a promoted side.

It wasn't the best day for football in Gorgie - the sun was nowhere to be seen, and a couple of tigers were battling a rooster on the pitch. Needless to say, these were the mascots attempting to gee up the crowd before their favourites emerged from the tunnel.

Mr McDonald, not always guaranteed a warm welcome from the Jambo faithful, got us underway and Hearts could have been ahead after 30 seconds. A quick break saw Ksanavicius (we'll call him Audrey from now on if that's ok) slip the ball to Wallace whose cross initially looked to have eluded any Hearts presence in the penalty box. However, Ivaskevicius was on hand to hook the ball back across goal and only a brilliant reaction save from Fleming prevented Chris Innes from opening the scoring, albeit inadvertently. A good start.

Gretna may have conceded eight goals in their opening two games, but Hearts have only scored once in this time span, so it would be interesting to see what would prevail this afternoon. General consensus is that the new boys created plenty of chances against Falkirk and Hibs, so we had much to be wary about.

The early play down the flanks looked promising, which Gretna had noted, seekng to double up on Ivaskevicius/Neilson and Wallace/Audrey. There was a lack of presence in the penalty box, which would surely have to be corrected as Stewart fired a half-volley just wide on 13 minutes. A final product was still lacking. Defensively Hearts were solid, in midfield largely dominant also, but there was still no end result.

Another defensive mix up almost handed Hearts the lead on 20 minutes. Neilson and Ivaskevicius combined brilliantly into the box, although the Lithuanian's crucial ball was a bit slack. Skelton mistimed his clearance however, and Velicka had to force Fleming into another good point blank save. The fact we were getting in behind the Gretna defence was promising.

Banks got into a wee muddle, trying to clear a ball, as he felt there weren't enough options around him. Thankfully nothing came of it, as when Yantorno's angled free-kick rebounded off the wall a few moments afterwards. At the other end Audrey's by-line cross nearly found Berra in acres of space, but he was eventually outmuscled by fellow captain Innes.

We were at the half hour stage and some sections of the crowd were getting tetchy. An injury to Osman caused a wee bit of delay, after he had been caught high by Palazuelos. Another good cross from Audrey gave Ivaskevicius a header at goal, which was easily gathered by Fleming. Osman, by now back to fitness, tried a long shot which McMenamin tried to divert past Banksie - in the event it went wide. Davie Irons, head in hands, knew that it could have gone anywhere.

Hearts again passed up a great opportunity to take the lead - another break down the right flank ultimately went unpunished when Velicka was unable to find Audrey at the back post and Palazuelos's follow-up effort was easily blocked. Gretna were more than capable of dishing out some torture themselves, as Skelton caught Neilson out of position but was unable to supply the right cross and Osman again tried a far-out strike, which went wide.

Berra was the hero on the stroke of half-time, executing a super lunge on counter-attacking striker McMenamin as he threatened to pull the trigger. Stevie Frail made two changes at the break, bringing on Larry Kingston (to much acclaim) and Andy Driver for Jonsson and Palazuelos.

Larry's first contribution was a misplaced pass which allowed fellow sub David Graham to beat Robbie Neilson and tee up Jenkins in the box, only for Lee Wallace to get in the way.

Driver was in on the act almost immediately, breaking behind the centre backs and forcing Fleming into another excellent stop. Audrey created some space for himself too, but his shot was too weak to trouble the Gretna keeper. Lee Wallace, by now recovered from his block on Jenkins, had to be alert to hassle the predatory McMenamin away from goal when a shot looked on the cards.

It was noticeable that Gretna were dictating things in midfield since the withdrawal of our two more combative midfielders. Bluntly, it looked as if either team could fathom something out of nothing. Neither had yet.

Velicka's first touch let him down when a better one would have ensured a clear run at goal. It was getting frustrating, and it was Velicka's last act of the game, taken off as he was for Makela.

Zaliukas clattered into an advertising horde as he fought off McMenamin, temporarily forcing Hearts down to 10 men. Makela had looked lively since his introduction, even tracking back into midfield to win the ball. He didn't really have any choice though, if he wanted to see it.

Hearts did take the lead after 73 minutes and it was worth the wait. Stewart picked up the ball on the left hand side and curled it across the penalty box to Driver who was lurking on the other side. The Englishman, taking advantage of the fact that his marker Skelton was off the pitch changing a bloody jersey, side-foot volleyed a beautiful left footed effort from 20 yards out, which looped over Fleming and into the net. We've had trouble scoring recently but when we do, they're great to watch.

Kenny Deuchar was now on, as Gretna sought to equalise. This they almost did when McMenamin fired low through a sea of legs and Makela cleared off the line. Hearts broke from this scare and Ivaskevicius was inches away from connecting with Driver's great delivery, which might have made the game safe if they had.

It was a miss we came to rue. Yantorno fired in a whipped free-kick and Craig Barr got a wee nick, diverted a header past Banks via the post.

The mood darkened because of this. Hearts were facing the real possibility of travelling to Parkhead next week with just two points on the scoreboard - not the nicest prospect. And there didn't look like there would be any more goals either. There weren't.

Hearts: Banks; Neilson, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace; Palazuelos (Kingston, 46), Jonsson (Driver, 46), Stewart; Ivaskevicius, Velicka (Makela, 66), Ksnavicius. Subs not used: Kurskis, Mikoliunas, Karipidis, Goncalves.

Gretna: Fleming; Barr, Skelton, Innes, Collin, Jenkins, Osman (Graham, 46), Murray (Paatalu, 68), McMenamin, Yantorno, Deverdics (Deuchar, 73). Booked: Yantorno, Skelton, Deuchar. Subs not used: Mathieson, McLaren, Grainger, Hogg.

Referee: Dougie McDonald

Top man: Michael Stewart