HAMED: WE WERE LUCKY

Mar 4 2005

By Neil Cameron

HAMED NAMOUCHI last night admitted even he was shocked Hugh Dallas awarded Rangers the penalty at Tynecastle.

But the Ibrox star wasn't about to complain and insisted it was a result that could well bring the title to Ibrox.

Namouchi was right in the thick of the action when the spot-kick was awarded for Lee Miller's foul on Sotirios Kyrgiakos.

And he turned away for a goal-kick until Gregory Vignal told him it was a penalty.

And with refreshing honesty Namouchi said: 'It was a good result but I have read that a lot of people said it wasn't a penalty.

'Maybe we were fortunate but I think you have to respect the choice of the referee in making the decision.

'But it was a strange situation because there was a long period before the penalty when we didn't know what was happening.

'Gregory was the one who turned to me and said it was a penalty and I was surprised.

'Then the big trouble started. Kowever, we were just delighted to get the victory.

'It was important Fernando Ricksen stepped up and showed composure the way it did.

'And it's true to say this is the kind of victory that can win a championship but Celtic had enough of them last year.

'Hopefully, we can keep winning and there can be no mistake this was a massive win for us.'

If he was surprised by all that,he was stunned by team--mate Dado Prso's red card.Namouchi said:'I couldn't believe Dado was sent off because he seems such a calm man but the atmosphere at Tynecastle can get to you like that.

'You could sense by the tempo from start to finish how important it was for us.

'The atmosphere contributed to the cloud over the game but we just had to be professional.

'It's not nice when you see things like that happening.

'Losing Dado is a big blow for us but Steven Thompson is more than capable of stepping in. He's shown before he is capable of scoring goals.

'The fact we have someone like Steven to call on shows the kind of strength in depth that we maybe didn't have before.

'But Dado shows in training all the time and his attitude is fantastic, which is why I was so surprised by his reaction.'

Namouchi himself is now looking for a run in the side,especially as he played a part in the run-up to the penalty incident.

He said: 'I was happy with my own contribution to the goal. It's nice to get an assist when you come off the bench.

'We have many players in this squad - you look at Dado, Nacho Novo and even Shota Arveladze.

'When I first came into the team it was because there were a lot of injuries and we didn't have the same size of squad as we do now.

'But I learned a lot in that period and I'm happy I'm able to compete for a place in a very experienced team.'

Taken from the Daily Record