Kid Gloves will up the Antti on legends

PAUL KIDDIE

KID gloves Craig Gordon was today tipped to become an even better goalkeeper than either Antti Niemi or Andy Goram.

The bold prediction came from Hearts skipper Steven Pressley, who saw his team-mate enhance his reputation as the country’s best young keeper with an outstanding performance in the 2-0 defeat from Motherwell.

The Balerno lad’s display between the posts at Fir Park was the only bright note from an otherwise depressing afternoon in Lanarkshire for the Gorgie outfit, a succession of excellent stops preventing John Robertson’s side from suffering a heavy defeat. Finnish international Niemi has seen his own stock soar since leaving Tynecastle to pursue his dream of playing in the English Premiership with Southampton two-and-a-half years ago.

And Goram established himself as a legendary last line of defence thanks to a glittering career with Rangers in the 1990s but Pressley is convinced the 22-year-old can emulate - if not better - their magnificent achievements.

"Craig’s performances have been excellent all season and outside of the Old Firm our goals against is the best in the league and Craig has contributed enormously towards that," said the Scotland stopper.

"A big part of a goalkeeper’s armoury is his concentration and Craig is excellent at that. There have been a number of matches in which he hasn’t had a lot to do but has pulled off an important save and that can be the difference in a match.

"The higher level you play at the more important that becomes. Looking at the big clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal their keepers are not called into action as often as some others but when they are, they more often than not produce a big save.

"I remember participating in a question-and-answer session at a supporters’ function prior to Antti Niemi leaving Hearts and said we had a first-class keeper waiting in the wings.

"I genuinely believed that at the time but he has surpassed even my expectations. He will be the first to say he still has a lot to learn but I feel he has all the attributes to be a top goalkeeper.

"In my career I have been very fortunate to work with some superb keepers in Antti Niemi and Andy Goram but I think Craig can be as good as them if not even better. The one thing which he has over the other two is his stature, he is a very big lad and is still to fill out."

While Gordon was pulling out all the stops at Fir Park - he set the tone for the day with a first-half penalty save from former Jambo Jim Hamilton - Celtic No.1 Rab Douglas handed Rangers victory in the Old Firm showdown at Parkhead with a dreadful mistake 24 hours later. The pair are among a quartet of goalkeepers in contention for the gloves under new Scotland boss Walter Smith - Neil Sullivan and David Marshall are the others vying for selection for next month’s World Cup qualifier in Italy. Although Gordon kept a clean sheet on his last outing for his country in the World Cup qualifying draw against Slovenia at Hampden Park in September, Berti Vogts’ successor is widely expected to opt for experience in the cauldron of the San Siro with Douglas understood to have been in pole position before Sunday’s calamitous mistake.

His howler may have seriously dented his chances of a recall to the Scots’ starting XI in Milan and Gordon will be more than capable of meeting the challenge if selected, insisted Pressley.

"Playing with the national team is a different kind of pressure as you have the weight of the country on your shoulders," said the Tynecastle star.

"Craig has had a wee taste of it already and I am sure he can handle it. There are three or four keepers fighting for the gloves and the position looks up for grabs.

"I’m sure they are all looking forward to the challenge and I hope for Hearts’ and Scotland’s sake it is Craig who is selected."

Of more immediate concern to Gordon and Pressley is ensuring the team bounces back from the Fir Park horror show.

Struggling Livingston are the visitors to Tynecastle for Sunday’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup quarter- final tie and the captain said: "Goalkeepers can inspire their team-mates and at the time I thought Craig’s penalty save in the first half at Motherwell could prove vital.

"It was disappointing that didn’t turn out to be the case as we failed to perform to the levels we had been reaching recently.

"We received a lot of plaudits for our recent run of results and the weekend was a blow. But we have to move on, put it behind us and focus on getting past Livingston into the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup."

Taken from the Scotsman