Ricksen fortunate - Elvis

BY PAUL KIDDIE

HEARTS skipper Steven Pressley has admitted he was surprised that Fernando Ricksen escaped a red card in the CIS Cup semi-final clash at Hampden Park.

The Dutch star was already skating on thin ice after being cautioned for a challenge on Stephane Mahe early in the second half when he caught the Jambos captain with another late tackle 11 minutes from time.

It was a tackle which fully merited a yellow card yet referee Mike McCurry shirked his responsibility by turning a blind eye to the incident and didn’t even speak to the player.

To his credit, Pressley played down the challenge at the time but afterwards he expressed his surprise that the Ibrox ace was allowed to finish the game.

"It was not a great tackle from Fernando," said Pressley, whose team went down 1-0 thanks to Ronald de Boer’s 27th-minute header.

"After an initial booking he was perhaps a touch unfortunate not to get sent off.

"But I didn’t try to influence anybody. It’s the referee’s decision and I left it up to him."

Hearts paid the price for a timid display in the first half at Hampden, the Jambos’ performance after the break much more what boss Craig Levein had been looking for.

However, clear-cut chances continued to be at a premium and Pressley added: "I thought we were the better team after the break and put them out of their stride.

"In the second half we showed what can be achieved by taking the game to Rangers but in the first 45 minutes we basically gave them too much respect. We let ourselves down as we didn’t show the belief in the first half that was required."

The Jambos were roared on by almost 8000 fans last night and Levein said: "The players deserved credit for being more positive in the second half and gave the fans something to sing about. I thought they were brilliant but I wouldn’t have blamed them for leaving at half-time as I felt entertainment-wise we hadn’t fulfilled our side of the bargain."

Taken from the Scotsman