Emotion of cup derby hits Pressley

HEARTS skipper Steven Pressley admitted he was overwhelmed with emotion after the Jambos' crushing Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-final win.

Pressley, whose side will now face Gretna, only arrived at Tynecastle after Hearts' last cup win in 1998 and he revealed the whole occasion left him drained.
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Former Dundee United player Pressley, who missed the second half after a blow to the head, said: "It's fantastic.

"I've waited eight years for the opportunity to lead the team out in a Scottish Cup final and it was rather emotional in the dressing room after the game.

"It was a very special day with the reaction of the fans showing just how huge getting to the final is to this football club.

"The fans were tremendous from the moment we arrived within the vicinity of Hampden.

"They were out in their thousands in the streets applauding us as the bus drew nearer and nearer the stadium and that was a very emotional time as well.

"I'm delighted for them because, like myself, they've waited eight years to return to a final and so it's going to be a fantastic occasion.

"The final is still five weeks away but we have to savour this moment."

Pressley was taken off at half-time with concussion after clashing with Hibs striker Abdessalam Benjelloun just before the break. Pressley will now miss the Gorgie men's Bank of Scotland Premierleague match with Celtic on Wednesday.

He said: "That's the second case of concussion I've had in two weeks. There was no way I could continue, the doctor said he couldn't take the risk. I won't be able to play against Celtic or probably in the next game against Dunfermline."

A similar incident also led to Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon controversially being booked for trying to get referee Stuart Dougal to stop the game.

Gordon attempted to alert Dougal to the fact defender Jose Goncalves lay unconscious behind the goal after an accidental clash between the two Jambos players.

Gordon, however, was keen to play the incident down afterwards.

He said: "I caught Jose with my shoulder at the side of the face and he was knocked out for a couple of minutes but thankfully he is all right now.

"But Stuart Dougal just said, 'there's a yellow card, son'.

"I did try to explain to him but he said that I wasn't a medical person and I shouldn't have concerned myself with it.

"But Stuart and I had a laugh about it after the game so there's no big deal."

Taken from the Scotsman