On song: Eli Babalj celebrates after scoring Heart's second goal. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
MELBOURNE Heart coach John Aloisi heaped praise on Nick Kalmar after the tall attacking midfielder's long-range free kick paved the way for Heart to get back to winning form with a 2-0 victory over Perth Glory on Saturday night.
Kalmar, whose size and bulk belies his delicate touch, floated a set-piece from distance, which eased Heart nerves and put it in the driving seat against a Glory side that, following this loss, remains stuck to the foot of the A-League table.
Kalmar has been a fixture at Heart since the club's inception, having been signed from the Victorian Premier League as part of the club's initial tranche of recruits. But he has been badly hit by injuries for much of that time, missing most of last season as Heart made the finals.
If the club is to do so for the second season in a row his expertise with a dead ball could be vital.
But it wasn't just his free-kick skills that saw him stand out on Saturday night. He made space well, controlled the ball in tight areas and was a willing recipient of passes in the forward third of the pitch as he tried to create attacks.
''Nick Kalmar was outstanding,'' Aloisi declared after the game.
''He was finding areas where it was difficult to mark him. He was popping up between the lines of their midfield and defence. He kept on getting into good areas and his ball control was also good.''
In fact, Kalmar could have doubled his dead-ball total as a free kick he took in the second half came close after it took a deflection from the Glory defence.
It wasn't just Kalmar who gave the Heart faithful plenty to cheer about after a depressing fortnight when it was poor in a loss against Western Sydney Wanderers and then lost another close derby clash with Melbourne Victory 2-1.
David Williams also made a major contribution to this win. His career at the Heart has been one of inconsistency - certainly in his debut season in 2011-12 - but this season he has found a much more positive rhythm.
Against Glory he worked hard and caused problems all night with his enthusiasm and commitment, as well as his willingness to shoot from distance.
Heart has been too much of a yo-yo side this campaign for everyone to get too excited by its prospects after this win: it has looked really good in earlier games only to follow up with disappointing performances. A case of two steps forward, one step back.
But Aloisi believes that his side will take plenty from earning three points against a side that last season physically intimidated it on almost all occasions they met, culminating in a 3-0 defeat in the west in the first week of the finals.
''It does give us confidence. We played well against a team that was able to outmuscle us in the past. Now we have to prove that we can follow this up,'' Aloisi said.
The next few weeks will be critical to the way Heart's season pans out, as it plays Newcastle away next Friday night and then Sydney at AAMI Park on February 24.
Glory looks a shadow of the side that made the grand final last season when it ran Brisbane so close. Coach Ian Ferguson has had to cope with financial cutbacks as owner Tony Sage looks to trim costs and balance the books. For Ferguson, that has meant the loss of many experienced players and lessened the competition for places in the squad.
''It's not easy, but we have to deal with it. We lost players because they wanted guarantees of first-team football, which I couldn't give,'' he said.
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