Kids must take it on the chin

21 September 2009
By BARRY ANDERSON
YOUNG players like those deployed by Hearts yesterday can have their confidence destroyed losing games to stoppage-time goals.
Late winners have been Celtic's preserve since the days of Billy McNeill's managerial tenure; a commodity they specialise in more than any other club. When Glenn Loovens' header secured victory three minutes into added time, the younger members of the visiting team visibly slouched after putting their heart and soul into the previous 93 minutes. But their despondency must be short-lived.

The group of teens and promising early 20s that gave Tony Mowbray's band of seasoned internationals a genuine fright at Parkhead have served notice of their intent. Their maturing is now only a matter of time. At one stage, Gary Caldwell, the Celtic captain, and goalkeeper Artur Boruc were seen grappling with one another in rage following a dangerous Hearts attack. Perhaps they were arguing over who deserved the biggest wage rise, but if performance-related pay was applicable yesterday then Hearts' youngsters would have left the stadium just as quids in as their opponents.

On the balance of play, particularly after the interval, it was difficult to deny that Celtic deserved the three points which propelled them back to the summit of the SPL. They struck woodwork three times during concerted periods of pressure but looked distinctly jittery in defence. Hearts scored first, threatened periodically and then held out virtually until the game's last kick. They were entitled to feel aggrieved at the final outcome.

Csaba Laszlo certainly did. He pinpointed errors in the lead-up to both Celtic goals as the reasons for defeat and implored his youthful charges to learn from their mistakes. But it would be harsh to say Suso, scorer of a quite wondrous opening goal on five minutes, and Lee Wallace, were guilty of any blatant naivety. The Spaniard appeared to be impeded by Shaun Maloney on the goal line before the Scot crossed for Chris Killen to equalise on 55 minutes. Wallace then allowed the ball to run out of play after three of four stoppage-time minutes had lapsed, believing Celtic substitute Niall McGinn touched it last. It is reasonable to assume that, had the full-back any inclination that his was the final touch, then he would have booted it into touch. He did not, a corner was awarded and seconds later Loovens' victory dance was underway.

Teenagers like the outstanding Craig Thomson and Arvydas Novikovas trooped off at the end, followed by colleagues like Wallace and Suso, who are just a few years older. Winger Andy Driver, himself just 21, had already been withdrawn. Their youthful exuberance was tamed on the day but their brave performances confirmed there is much more to come.

"I am disappointed to lose in the last second, especially when we had the game in our hands," lamented Laszlo. "We had two bad decisions from my players. We can get goals, definitely, but Celtic had a good goalkeeper who made two good saves.

"Celtic have a bigger squad with more experience. I have a young squad that is looking to be better and better. These mistakes must stop. We lost the game ourselves. Lee Wallace was 100 per cent sure this was not a corner and he let the ball go out for a goal kick.

You can't accuse anybody. Suso had the possibility to clear before the equaliser. He was of the opinion that it was a foul. He was not fouled but the cross back in brought a goal. If he gets the foul we do not get any goal.

"These are two situations where we were in possession of the ball with the possibility to make another decision. The players made the decision and after we lose the goal. Definitely, I will defend my players and I accept these decisions. Next time maybe you must have another decision or you must be more clever.

"You never know what can happen. If Lee Wallace kicked the ball up front and it comes directly back and then we lose a goal, you are asking why he did not let the ball go out. This is football. From mistakes come goals. The disappointing thing is we had the ball both times. The opponent did not create chances from pressure or shoot after a very nice combination. This is the learning process.

"I must be proud about the team and the performance. I don't know how many minutes we were in front but we had some other goal chances. I am not unhappy."

Had Driver managed to convert a second goal for his team shortly before the interval, it is doubtful whether Celtic, showing signs of fatigue from their midweek exertions in Tel Aviv, would have had the wherewithal to retrieve a two-goal deficit. Caldwell took an eternity to react to Janos Balogh's looping kickout and Driver scampered away unchallenged towards goal. His shot struck the underside of Boruc's outstretched arm and Caldwell awoke in time to clear off his own goal line. The sight of defender and goalkeeper mandhandling one another emphasised the extent to which Hearts had unnerved their hosts.

Ismael Bouzid had surprisingly started in attack but reverted to centre-back when Novikovas replaced the injured Marius Zaliukas and, whenever Hearts ventured forward, Celtic appeared vulnerable, Caldwell doing little to justify his recent claims that he should be paid parity with Parkhead's top earners.

However, they were fighting against a continual tide of green and white. Maloney had struck the crossbar in the first half, Aiden McGeady did likewise in the second and Scott McDonald hit a post and then had a subsequent shot cleared off the line by Thomson, Hearts' outstanding player. There was a sense of inevitability about Loovens' winner when it arrived but for Laszlo it continued a recent theme.

"It is a disappointing to have the same situation as we had against St Johnstone in the last minute, and against Rangers at home with a penalty in the last minute. We must concentrate more in this direction. It is not usual to lose every game in extra-time," he said, before commenting on exactly why referee Dougie McDonald added four minutes of stoppage time at the end of a second half which contained just two substitutions and no injuries.

"This is the biggest question I have. I can't give an answer because I don't show the extra-time," he continued. "You must ask him. I can give the answer if I make the decision. If I go home and tell my wife to take the children out for two hours because I would like to be alone and she asks why, I can tell her because I lost this game in extra-time."

Both teams were denied fairly plausible penalties in the second half. Wallace fell under Andreas Hinkel's tackle and then the full-back challenged McGinn at the opposite end as the midfielder fell to the floor. McDonald refused both claims, and Mowbray refused to complain.

"It looked to me as if it was a penalty. But I'm 60 yards away, the referee was ten yards away," he said. "There was a little bit of déjà vu from the Dundee United game the previous week. We conceded an early goal, went chasing the game and had another controversial penalty decision not go our way. Thankfully, this time we didn't need it.

"After all the travelling we've done and the heat we played in (in Israel], it wasn't an ideal start for us. We've spoken long and hard about concentration levels in these games. I thought we played very well. Even 1-0 down in the first half I was pleased with how they were moving the ball around the pitch. We asked a lot of questions of a very strong, resilient Hearts but our final ball let us down at times. I feel we got what we deserved, a victory. I find it hard to see how we didn't deserve to win.

"Hearts will take points off a lot of clubs this year. They've got some very strong, powerful footballers."

As those players become older, wiser and stronger, it will be intriguing to see how they match up to the Old Firm over the coming months.

Taken from the Scotsman