ROBBO'S HIT OVER HEAD BY JUANJO

Dec 12 2004

INVERNESS CT....1 HEARTS.............1

Gordon Waddell At Pittodrie

INVERNESS battled back to snatch a point from 10-man Hearts and stretch their unbeaten home run to five games in a brutal clash at Pittodrie.

Ref Calum Murray had the hardest shift on the park as former Caley boss John Robertson returned north for the first time.

Murray sent off Scotland stopper Andy Webster in the first half for a stamping incident that sparked a 16-man brawl.

And the game's two goals came from hotly disputed second-half spot kicks - with Paul Hartley and Juanjo on target.

Both bosses stuck with the same teams as last week but neither side got off to the flying starts that stood them in such good stead against Rangers and Dunfermline.

However, if Juanjo had been sharper he could have fired Caley ahead within a minute.

Grant Munro's throw from the left was brilliantly flicked on by Graham Bayne but the Spaniard's reactions were slow and rather than guide his header home, the ball cannoned off him and wide.

It was sluggish stuff after that. Ross Tokely did well to clear a great Robbie Nielson cross with Mark De Vries menacing.

At the other end Juanjo blew another dream chance when clean through on goal.

The former Hearts star tried to round Craig Gordon but forgot to take the ball with him and the Scotland No.1 saved easily.

Hearts couldn't slip into gear and their cause got 10 times worse when Webster saw red after 33 minutes.

The defender's challenge on Bayne seemed fair enough until he followed through with a shove and planted the big striker into the stand wall.

All hell broke loose and Tokely gestured that Webster had stamped on his teammate as well.

When ref Murray sifted through the wreckage he dished out a straight red to the Jambos star and yellows to team-mate Patrick Kisnorbo and Caley's Liam Keogh for the afters.

Whatever happened, Webster trudged off with few complaints.

The whistler also missed a few niggles and home hitman Ramon Pereira was lucky to escape for an incident on the far side.

Although Inverness had a few chances before the break they didn't ram home the advantage before former boss Robbo had a chance to regroup.

Juanjo again passed up a good opening, side-footing Keogh's cross wide from 10 yards.

And in injury time Bayne rose well to flash in a header from Tokely's cross but Gordon again was in the right place to save.

As expected, Robertson reshaped his Tynecastle troops at half-time.

He hooked the ineffective Pereira and Dennis Wyness and pitched Graham Weir up front with de Vries. Michael Stewart also came on in midfield.

It left the Jambos playing a far more rigid system but given Caley Thistle's workrate, Robbo was left with no other option Leaving Pereira in the free role he had was a luxury they couldn't afford with a man down.

And the new system served its purpose, creating a stalemate in the opening exchanges of the second half.

Only Keogh's blazing 20-yard volley posed any threat, zipping over Gordon's bar by inches.

And as Hearts settled, suddenly Inverness struggled.

Super sub Weir buzzed around and twice within a minute nipped in to wreak havoc.

First he raced in from the right and fired a shot wide before squeezing between the centre backs and failing to beat Mark Brown one-on-one.

Weir got his rewards two minutes later when he raced on to a De Vries header.

Brown came and dived at his feet and Weir went flying.

Contact was negligible but the ref took his time and - no thanks to assistant Keith Sorbie - pointed to the spot.

Hartley stepped up and made no mistake.

The decision didn't make Weir the most popular man in the stadium and three minutes later he was in the thick of it again.

The youngster stupidly pushed Stuart Golabek away with both hands after a square up and both players were booked.

Caley got themselves level after 68 minutes.

Juanjo was clipped in the box by Kisnorbo, again the ref gave it and the Spaniard coolly slotted home.

The Highlanders almost went in front three minutes later when Juanjo's volley crashed off the bar with Brown beaten.

Both sides had their chances to win it late on. Hartley came close when he got behind the Caley Jags' defence at one end.

And at the other Tokely's ball across goal was agonisingly missed by Bayne and Roy McBain at the back post.

But McBain was the real hero at the death. Steven Pressley's header from Hartley's corner was home and hosed but the Caley midfielder headed off the line.REFWATCHCALUM MURRAY was at the centre of everything. Andy Webster never contested his red card and both penalties will be hotly debated. He made the tough calls and got no help. Rating: 6/10

Taken from the Sunday Mail