Inverness CT 1 Hearts 1

Sep 11 2011 Ewan Smith

HEARTS boss Paulo Sergio revealed he stopped blunder keeper Jamie MacDonald from apologising for gifting Inverness a point.

The unlucky No.1 slipped on the sodden turf allowing Nick Ross to steal the ball and set up Gregory Tade for Caley Thistle's 50th-minute opener.

Striker Stephen Elliott saved his keeper's blushes with a late leveller - but that hardly raised a smile from guilt-ridden Jamie at the full-time whistle.

He was about to say sorry to his Jambos pals - but Sergio stepped in to prevent any blame game in the dressing-room.

The Portuguese boss said: "This kind of mistake has happened a million times before and it's not Jamie's fault.

"It's the responsibility of the whole group to win and lose together.

"I went into the dressing-room at the end and heard Jamie saying: 'Hey guys, I'm sorry'.

"But I stopped him and told him I didn't want to listen to it.

"The goal was not his fault, it's our fault as a team.

"All players make mistakes and MacDonald made some good saves after that to make up for it.

"We don't have blame at our club. We are a team, not individuals."

Inverness striker Tade capitalised on MacDonald's error - but he revealed he didn't have any sympathy for the luckless keeper.

The Frenchman said: "I don't feel sorry - what happens if I make a mistake?

"The defender comes in and takes no prisoners, doesn't he?

"Their keeper didn't cost them a goal because he slipped. He slipped because Nick Ross was putting him under pressure. We won the ball and scored.

"If Nick wasn't there, the keeper would have slipped and got back up to clear - so the goal was down to what we did."

While Caley deserve credit for the clinical way they took advantage of that blunder, little praise can be given to either side for a dismal first-half display.

Very little happened, aside from a couple of half chances for Richie Foran and an Andy Webster strike that was blocked on the line by Andrew Shinnie.

The game burst into life in the second period. First, Caley took the lead after MacDonald slipped then Hearts went on the hunt for an equaliser.

David Templeton cracked a long-range drive off the bar to send a warning to Caley.

Tade then missed two golden opportunities to put his side further ahead.

Firstly, he broke clear only to take a heavy touch and allow MacDonald to clutch the ball to safety.

Then he cut in from the right and fired a low drive that cannoned off MacDonald's legs and out for a corner.

Inverness were left to rue those misses as, out of the blue, the visitors snatched a late equaliser.

Templeton's cross was missed by the home defence and Elliott stole in at the back post to level the score.

He said: "It was good to get a goal. The last couple of weeks I've come very close.

"I've hit the woodwork but now I've got a goal that's trickled over the line. That's the way it goes sometimes.

"Inverness had a lot of chances and could have put us out of sight but we dug in, scored the equaliser and we have to be happy with the point.

Taken from the Daily Record