Red marks last game for Pressley

STEVEN PRESSLEY won’t forget his last Hearts game of the 2004-05 season for a long time.

In the wake of John Robertson’s sacking as manager, the skipper assumed extra coaching responsibilities as he and interim boss John McGlynn took charge of the Jambos.

With the club having parted company with Robbo last week, the pair were handed the reins for the final two matches of the SPL campaign, yesterday’s visit of Celtic being followed by a trip to Aberdeen on Sunday.

There will be no Pittodrie performance for Elvis, however, with the Scotland defender’s injury-time dismissal against the Hoops meaning his only input in the Granite City at the weekend will be from the sidelines. The Hearts captain was lending his weight to an attack as the Tynecastle showdown entered stoppage time with the home side pushing desperately for an equaliser.

With the ball at his feet, the captain forced his way forward and was upended in the box by a rash challenge from the visitors’ Craig Beattie.

The title-chasing Hoops held their breath as the Gorgie faithful screamed for a penalty. It appeared a strong shout but referee Willie Young was not impressed.

The veteran official, who hangs up his whistle at the end of the season, was even less impressed by Pressley’s crashing fall to the turf, dashing over and promptly flashing a second yellow card to the centre half, who had been booked earlier in the second half for a foul on Craig Bellamy.

An equaliser would have dealt a near fatal blow to the Parkhead outfit’s championship challenge, Celtic having gone into the game a point behind league leaders Rangers who have a significantly better goal difference.

Instead it was the home side left in despair - and a man down.

The 31-year-old accepted his dismissal against Celtic with great dignity - but he had every right to be furious.

Stanislav Varga was deemed to have dived in the box six minutes after the break in an attempt to win a spot-kick, Young contenting himself on that occasion with just a ticking off to the defender.

Try telling the Hearts fans their team gets a fair crack of the whip against the Old Firm.

As managers demand consistency from their players, so players are entitled to look for the same from referees.

"I thought it was a penalty as the guy’s knee came across me and fouled me," said Pressley.

"It was a big decision for Willie Young to make but if he is not 100 per cent sure then he can’t give it. It was his final game refereeing Hearts and he has been a first-class official for a long period of time.

"I have got the utmost respect for him and it was his call at the end of the day.

"I don’t think he really wanted to send me off but if he thought I had dived then the decision was a correct one.

"I didn’t react aggressively to the decision as that would not have changed his mind.

"You have to accept referees’ decisions.

"I spoke to Willie after the match and thanked him for what he has given to the game over so many years. I have respect for him as a referee and as a person."

Beattie conceded there had been contact as he tried to dispossess Pressley but stressed "football is a contact sport."

Hearts certainly merited something from their last home game of the season but as former boss Robertson will testify, you don’t always get what you deserve in football.

The tactics deployed by McGlynn and Pressley appeared to be working perfectly in the first half with the visitors rarely seen as an attacking threat.

Early pressure saw the Jambos force three quick corners without success before Graham Weir, who was handed a rare start, tested Rab Douglas from just outside the box after 12 minutes.

It was all going well enough until the 25th minute, when Celtic managed their first attempt on goal - and broke the deadlock courtesy of a deflection.

A quick break by the visitors saw Bellamy gather possession down the right. The Hearts defence failed to deal with the Welshman’s cross properly and the ball fell to Alan Thompson in acres of space just outside the area. The midfielder let fly and his left-foot shot took a wicked deflection off Robbie Neilson to give Craig Gordon no chance.

It was cruel luck on Hearts, who should have levelled things six minutes from the interval when Weir sent a free header straight at Douglas from six yards out - either side of the keeper and it was a certain goal.

Pressley relished being asked to take a more hands-on role after Robbo’s exit and as the hour mark approached he took advantage of a break in play to go around his team-mates and urge them on to even greater efforts.

Not long after and the hosts were celebrating a deserved leveller, Celtic target Paul Hartley lashing an angled drive beyond Douglas.

No sooner had they clawed their way back into the match, though, than Hearts’ backs were against the wall.

Gordon parried a near-post shot from Beattie past his near post and from the resultant corner from Thompson, Chris Sutton’s header came back off the underside of the bar and back into the arms of a relieved Gordon.

Bellamy sent a shot over the top in the 76th minute and 60 seconds later the Bhoys had their noses back in front.

Stilian Petrov burst clear from the middle of the park and played a ball into the path of Bellamy. Instead of going for glory himself, the striker left it to Beattie and his team-mate rattled a low drive under the body of Gordon.

It was a real hammer blow for the managerless Maroons, whose luck took a further turn for the worst with Pressley’s red card.

"I thought we did fantastically well," said the Hearts skipper.

"We passed the ball well and made by far the better of the clear-cut chances. They pressed us more in the second half but are all disappointed as we believed we should have taken something out of the game."

As adamant as Hearts were that they should have had a penalty, Martin O’Neill, not surprisingly, maintained Young called it correctly.

"We knew it would be tight and Hearts showed great determination to get something from the game and put us under pressure early on," said the Parkhead boss. "I actually thought we were doing all right when they equalised.

"My heart was in my mouth, though, when Pressley went down in the box so late in the game.

"But having seen the incident on television, I don’t think it was a penalty."

Taken from the Scotsman