Highland warriors show more heart for the battle

SCOTT DAVIE AT PITTODRIE

Inverness CT 1 Juanjo (68 pen)
Hearts 1 Hartley (61 pen)
Referee: C Murray. Attendance: 2,011

JOHN Robertson was entitled to a feeling of justifiable pride in the performance of both teams at Pittodrie even if the start made by his former club was enough to give him genuine concerns about the UEFA Cup prospects of his current one.

Hearts may well have been preoccupied with the vital match against Ferencvaros but a similarly sluggish start on Thursday night at Murrayfield would leave the Hungarian league leaders with a greater interest in events unfolding in Switzerland.

Such are the vagaries of this group stage that a Ferencvaros win, coupled with a Basel loss at home to Feyenoord, would take the Swiss through, though a win for Ruud Gullit’s side is still good enough for Basel to progress if Robertson’s team draw.

It was another little former Hearts striker, albeit a more slender one, who should have created even more havoc than he eventually did in converting the home team’s equalising penalty. Juanjo squandered several chances to give Inverness an unassailable lead by the interval, the worst two an improbable header in the six-yard-box and a glaring miss after he had rounded Craig Gordon.

How Craig Brewster, who still cannot play himself, must have suffered on the sidelines at missing out on the chance to add the finishing touches to his hard-working team’s build-up play.

Of course it was Robertson and his assistant Donald Park who imbued the Inverness men with that work ethic during a succesful spell in the Highlands that saw Inverness reach the semi-final of the Scottish Cup, win the Challenge Cup and earn promotion to the SPL.

Despite having moved on, Robertson clearly wants the good work he started at Inverness not to be in vain and predicted that the Highlanders would stay in the top tier. "I thought they were the better team as they are showing more passion, more spirit and more belief and that has reinforced to me that there is no doubt that they have more than enough to survive in this league."

His old masters discussed, Robertson moved on to his new employees. "We showed today the spirit and character that we have in our dressing room with the way we came back in that second half. It’s there in abundance and in the end it’s a very good point for us. I hope the European game didn’t have an effect on us today as I wouldn’t want to use that as an excuse but Pittodrie is a strange place to come to when there is only two and a bit thousand people here.

"Maybe the players found the surreal atmosphere tough but Caley showed how they respond to it. We played better and nearly nicked it but that would have been very harsh on a very spirited and talented Caley side."

Hearts’ spirit was ignited by the first real moment of controversy, but certainly not the last, when Andy Webster received a straight red card for ploughing Graham Bayne into the advertising hoardings in 33 minutes.

That sparked a melee involving at least 16 players as accusations of stamping were made against the defender, who will now miss the trip to Livingston on Sunday as a result.

It was a charge he was quick to deny afterwards and Bayne also spoke up to verify the defender’s version of events but the simmering feuds continued which helped Hearts finally focus on the task at hand.

Graham Weir, on as a half- time substitute, earned a soft penalty in 61 minutes that Paul Hartley converted into his tenth goal of the season before the striker had a stronger claim for one waved aside by referee Calum Murray. Stuart Golabek clearly pushed his opponent over and the aftermath of that saw both men booked before justice was, and was not, done in the one incident as Juanjo went tumbling in the area.

That penalty looked even softer than Weir’s one but Juanjo rolled the resulting kick in for a deserved equaliser for a side who are now unbeaten in their last five matches at their adopted home with just one more visit prior to the planned switch back to Inverness.

Patrick Kisnorbo reckoned the Spaniard dived, and was honest enough to admit that he should know as the Australian international was sent off for a similar offence against Schalke in the UEFA Cup recently.

Brewster meanwhile has hit the ground running in his new elevated position and admits that his team are making it easy for him. "If the guys keep playing like this then I won’t need to strengthen the squad as there is competition there with boys desperate to come on which is what we are looking for."

There’s no doubt that Caley Thistle have done well at a ground they didn’t really want to be at and Robertson will be hoping to repeat that scenario with his current club later this week.

BASEL ARE HELD

HEARTS’ rivals for the final qualifying slot in UEFA Cup Group A, FC Basel, drew 3-3 at home to Thun on Saturday to stay top of the Swiss League by seven points from their opponents.

Basel fell behind, but led 3-1 at the break with goals from Argentinians Matias Delgado, Cesar Carignano and Julio Rossi. Thun replied with two goals midway through the second half.

Taken from the Scotsman