Gordon left with 'feeling of injustice'

IN THE extensive range of Craig Gordon's qualities, composure and evenness of temperament take high order. The big Hearts goalkeeper, it seems, does not do hysteria.

While the sound and the fury over the Tynecastle side's 3-0 defeat by AEK Athens on Wednesday continued to echo yesterday, Gordon offered a rationale for their elimination from the Champions League.

"There is a feeling of injustice about the manner in which we went out of the competition," said Gordon, who was named in Walter Smith's Scotland squad for the forthcoming ing European Championship qualifiers.

"I don't think there's any doubt that AEK were the better team over the two legs of the tie. But the way we went out was disappointing. The referee did not seem to be consistent, but sometimes decisions go against you and sometimes they go your way.

"I think over the course of the two games, they generally went against us. But we now have the UEFA Cup to look forward to."

Gordon considered it "quite annoying" that Hearts' flirtation with the Champions League should be so abruptly terminated. "It's quite annoying that that was our last Champions League game. Obviously, it was a severe setback when Julien Brellier was ordered off.

"Especially when his first yellow card was for wearing earrings. The uncompromising way Julien plays, he is likely to be given a card at any time in a European game, so to get one for that was always going to be a problem for us. I don't think we can have any complaints about the ordering-off of Neil McCann, though.

"I know we've had a few players sent off in recent times (five in Hearts' last nine matches), but, apart from Neil last night and Robbie Neilson at Ibrox, I think the others have been a little unlucky."

Taken from the Scotsman