Hearts claim vital 'goal' was on-side

RAY HEPBURN

30 Sep 1993

HEARTS were left frustrated and disappointed as they calculated the full extent of the legacy of Tuesday's UEFA Cup exit in Madrid.

The Edinburgh team were convinced that they had scored a legitimate goal through John Colquhoun in the first-round, second-leg defeat by Atletico Madrid, and recordings made by Spanish television confirmed yesterday that, indeed, Colquhoun was on-side when Scott Leitch played in the cross from the left after 31 minutes.

Graham Turner, assistant to Terry Venables during his spell in Spain as Barcelona manager, covered the 3-0 defeat for Spanish television.

"Replays have shown that Colquhoun was clearly onside at the instant the ball was played -- who knows what difference that would have made to the tie?" he said.

As it was, Hearts fell behind just four minutes later when Pedro's shot from 25 yards took a deflection off Graeme Hogg and spun past Henry Smith.

And further bad news for manager Sandy Clark could mean an absence from first-team action for skipper Craig Levein after a first half collision with Smith.

Tests cannot rule out a cheekbone fracture until swelling has subsided further, but Levein played more than an hour in great pain.

"The first 10 minutes after the collision were particularly bad, but I managed to play through the worst," he said.

The loss of the in-form Scotland player would be a severe set-back to a team who must now try to regain their confidence at Dens Park on Saturday.

"We're disappointed and frustrated at the news of the goal, but we still have a tremendous amount to play for this season," said Clark.

"We can't be happy with the final two goals we lost, although I felt the final scoreline was harsh judgment on the efforts or the players."

* THE estimated 700 Hearts supporters at the match were described yesterday as "excellent ambassadors for Scottish football."

The praise came from Atletico's president Jesus Gil, who said: "It was a pleasure to have them in our stadium.

Our supporters even applauded the Scots.

It was great for sport."

A high-ranking police officer in charge of security at the ground told a Lothian and Borders chief superintendent who attended the game that the Scots' behaviour was "excellent," with not one incident reported.

Taken from the Herald