Nick feared red card but 'didn't touch Kirk'

BY DAVID HARDIE

NICK COLGAN today admitted he feared being sent off for the second match in succession as referee Stuart Dougal pointed to the spot after Hearts striker Andy Kirk went down under his challenge in an epic derby at Tynecastle.

But the Hibs goalkeeper insisted he had made no contact whatsoever with the Northern Ireland star - his claim appearing to be confirmed by the television cameras.

Hibs had stunned their Capital rivals by racing into a two-goal lead with strikes from Derek Townsley and Tam McManus in just 17 minutes when Kirk, looking suspiciously offside latched onto a pass from Scott Severin.

And he went down as Colgan raced from his line to confront him, the Irish ’keeper sliding at his feet.

Dougal had no hesitation awarding a penalty, leaving Colgan, sent off in his previous match for pulling down Partick Thistle’s Alex Burns, with his heart in his mouth.

Asked if he feared another red card, Colgan said: "Of course. The referee has awarded a penalty and in those circumstances you have to be worried he is going to send you off.

"But I didn’t touch Kirk. As I came out I stumbled and fell in front of him but there was no contact whatsoever between us."

Colgan escaped with a yellow card but couldn’t stop Hearts skipper Steven Pressley pulling a goal back for the Gorgie outfit who levelled through Mark de Vries then, incredibly, fought back from being two goals down for a second time with a double strike from teenage hero Graham Weir in injury time after Craig James and Grant Brebner appeared to have given Hibs boss Bobby Williamson his first derby win in four attempts.

Williamson was left crestfallen after seeing his side throw away the lead for a second derby in-a-row but he was unhappy at the amount of added on time played by Dougal, claiming a bottle thrown by a Hearts fan at Hibs skipper Ian Murray had wrecked the referee’s time-keeping.

Meanwhile, Hibs defender Paul Fenwick today solved the mystery of his late arrival for the start of the second-half, revealing he’d snapped a bootlace.

The Canadian star was stunned to find the action had started without him, having been promised by fourth official Charlie Richmond that the game would be held up until he was ready.

He explained: "Going back out I felt my boot a bit loose but as I tightened it the lace snapped, these things do happen from time-to-time.

"The fourth official told me not to worry, to take my time and that the game wouldn’t start until it was fixed."

But with the Hibs bench frantically watching the tunnel for Fenwick to emerge, referee Dougal got the second period underway.

Fenwick said: "I couldn’t believe it when I came down the tunnel to discover the game had kicked off.

"Thankfully we didn’t lose a goal in that spell, I’m sure the manager would have had a few words if we had done so. But there did seem to be a bit of a breakdown in communication between the fourth official and the referee in the circumstances."

While Williamson was raging at more than five minutes of added on time being played when only four had been indicated, Hibs star Craig James admitted he and his team-mates had paid the penalty for losing their concentration after he and Brebner, who pounced following Roddy McKenzie’s save from a Mixu Paatelainen penalty, had made it 4-2.

James agreed he’d never gone from such a high to such a low in such a short period of time, revealing he thought his goal would prove to be the winner, a feeling confirmed when he saw Brebner lash home Hibs’ fourth.

The 20-year-old, on loan from Sunderland, said: "I’ve never been involved in such a finish to a game, but you have to go to the final whistle It was a new experience, but one which was very hard to take.

"When I scored I felt we would win the game, even more so when we scored another. To be then hit like that was a horrible feeling."

Taken from the Scotsman