Stevenson recalls his surprise as Jonsson gave Hearts winner

RYAN STEVENSON thought Eggert Jonsson had taken leave of his senses when he sprinted out of defence before striking an exquisite overhead kick to secure victory for Hearts at Pittodrie.

After marvelling at the execution, Stevenson believes it could even become goal of the season in the SPL.

Jonsson reverted to centre-back to compensate for the loss of Dawid Kucharski and Marius Zaliukas against Aberdeen, before taking it upon himself to initiate the move which produced the winner in an overall untidy affair.

Stevenson watched the Icelander gallop past on his way to the opposition penalty area and thought he had suffered a rush of blood to the head. But Jonsson's instincts proved sound as he connected perfectly with an acrobatic attempt after Calum Elliot's shot had looped into the air off Charlie Mulgrew.

"He must have run by me about 40 yards from goal and I was thinking, 'where the hell is he going here?'" said Stevenson. "The ball has fallen 20 feet out the sky and then you see him attempting an overhead kick. I was going, 'what the hell's he doing?'

"I never thought he was going to connect the way he did with it, let alone the ball going in. Everything about it, the movement before it and then for him to get on the end of it made it a really great goal. It was an unbelievable finish and it will be up there with the goals of the season."

Jonsson's versatility and dedication to the cause has seen him occupy four different positions for Hearts in the four weeks since Jefferies returned to the club. He has been deployed at right midfield, centre midfield, right-back and, on Saturday, centre-back.

The player believes he operates best as a central midfielder but has refused to complain about being shunted around.

"I've been really impressed with Eggert since I came in. He's been superb in every game, even every day in training he's been superb," continued Stevenson.

"He's still very young and he has a massive career ahead of him. He comes into his work and works very hard at what he does. He's very good at what he does so the future is very bright for him."

Hearts required to show immense resolve at Pittodrie after Larry Kingston was sent off and Kucharski and Zaliukas had to be withdrawn. Stevenson believes their defiance is evidence of squad unity at a vital juncture in the season as the SPL prepares to split in two for its final weeks.

"When things are going against you, everyone rallies against it and you feel hard done by. That was the case on Saturday with the injuries and Larry's sending-off," said Stevenson. "Previously Hearts have struggled going to places like Pittodrie and if things were going against them they'd maybe lose. It just shows you everybody is pulling together.

"Whoever got the first goal was always going to have a good chance of winning. It was a sticky game. Aberdeen are having a bit of a bad time and once we got the goal I think we were quite comfortable. They didn't have many clear-cut chances so we were able to hang in there and get three points."

With awkward visits to Tannadice and Fir Park imminent, plus the Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle on Saturday, 20 March, Stevenson is careful not to look too far ahead on the fixture calendar for fear of becoming distracted. But he admitted the next three matches will shape Hearts' season.

"It was good to get a win on Saturday to put a bit of distance between ourselves and teams below us. We're just taking it game by game for now, although we are getting closer to teams above us. We have a very tough match against Dundee United on Sunday, then it's Motherwell away, then the derby. Those three games are massive because all these teams are above us. If we get points then it shows we're capable of being where they are.

"That's what we're looking to do because we're enjoying a good run of form at the moment."