GIVE US A HUDDLE

HEARTS keeper Craig Gordon last night admitted their ' huddle at the end of the 1-0 win over Motherwell was for under-fire coach Valdas Ivanauskas.

The Lithuanian has come in for criticism in the wake of recent poor results but Gordon's inspired form yesterday helped the Tynecastle side move into second place in the SPL - three points behind leaders Celtic

Jamie Mole's 71st-minute goal was enough to separate the sides and it sparked an impromptu Celtic-style huddle from Hearts at the final whistle.

And Gordon revealed it was a public display of unity within the camp as the Jambos shrugged aside their midweek defeat by Sparta Prague in the UEFA Cup.

He said: "We did the huddle because we wanted to show we are behind each other and the coaching staff.

"We want to play for this manager and I think we showed that. The huddle was not planned it was spontaneous.

"We also want to make this club better and we want more success. The most important thing was the result and we got a 1-0 win. Sometimes you just have to grind out wins.

"A lot of the teams in this league are struggling away from home and I include the big two in that."

Gordon produced two stunning stops from Keith Lasley and Jim Paterson to deny the home side a deserved share of the spoils.

Modestly the Scotland keeper said he got lucky at the right time and said: "The first save I just made myself big and he smashed it off my shoulder and over the bar.

"For the second I managed to put my left hand up and the ball went into the air. I was going the wrong way but I just instinctively threw up my hand and it came back down into my arms."

That led to Hearts manager Ivanauskas heaping praise on Gordon and rating him as one of the best young keepers in Europe.

Ivanauskas said: "Craig is the No.1 keeper in Scotland. I also rate him as one of the best in Europe. I have not seen anyone so young be so calm and cope with situations like him.

"He has a big, big future in the game and it is great for Hearts."

Meanwhile, Motherwell boss Maurice Malpas denied they were a team in crisis as they suffered their sixth defeat of the season.

The result was rough on a team who deserved at least a share of the spoils. And defeat came at a cost as defender Brian McLean limped off after four minutes with suspected medial knee-ligament damage.

Malpas said: "We didn't get what we deserved and if anybody thinks otherwise then they were at a different game from me.

"We had most of the chances and didn't score. But this is a results-based business and Hearts scored and took all three points.

"I'd also like to have a jibe at the Press. Anybody who is saying Motherwell are a team in crisis may have to shut up after watching that performance.

"If we had played like that all season we might have more points on the board.

"Hearts took their chance which we gave them, but we have not been destroyed this season by anyone and the worm must turn and our luck with it soon."

Malpas admitted he was sick of the sight of Gordon.

He said: "It was the same last season when he had a magnificent save from David Clarkson at Tynecastle but he is paid to do that."

Taken from the Daily Record