St Johnstone boss Steve Lomas admits he got tactics wrong in Tynecastle draw

Feb 6 2012 By Colin Duncan

STEVE LOMAS held his hands up and admitted he got it wrong. Now the St Johnstone boss has challenged ref Craig Thomson to do the same.

The Northern Irishman was furious at Thomson’s decision to red-card Dave Mackay, leaving Saints to see out the last 18 minutes of a pulsating Scottish Cup clash with 10 men.

Mackay, who had earlier been cautioned for dissent, walked for a second bookable offence when he accidently kicked David Templeton on the arm.

Lomas was already annoyed at himself for an overly cautious approach which allowed Hearts to dominate the first half and take the lead via Templeton’s early strike.

But the introduction of Cillian Sheridan at the interval and switch in formation from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 enabled the Saints to earn themselves a well-deserved second bite of the cherry despite their numerical disadvantage.

Sheridan’s late equaliser ensured both teams head into the hat for this afternoon’s quarter-final draw and while Lomas is delighted still to be in the competition, he has demanded answers from Thomson.

He said: “It would have been a travesty if we had gone out of the Cup but it was maybe my fault for changing the system.

“When we brought Cillian on we put pressure on them and I thought it was one-way traffic in the second half until the sending-off.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I would just like Craig to come out and explain how it can be dangerous play when somebody is hooking the ball over his shoulder and can’t see the opposing player come in.

“It’s not like Dave has eyes in the back of his head. I have to come in and explain my actions sometimes and I have to say I got it wrong in the first half.

“But I would like Craig or whoever the assessor is to explain that one to me as I am completely mystified.”

The Perth men had already beaten the Jambos twice this season before rolling up in Gorgie yesterday afternoon boasting an away record that suggests they are not easily intimidated on their travels

Wins at Tynecastle and Celtic Park and a draw at Ibrox would have filled them with confidence but that self-belief suffered an early setback when Templeton put Hearts ahead
after only 10 minutes.

Just seconds after Jamie MacDonald, back between the stick at the expense of Marian Kello, had made a good stop to deny Murray Davidson, the Hearts winger made the most of unimpressive defending and goalkeeping.

Davidson and Lee Croft both looked leaden-footed as Templeton collected the ball from Ryan McGowan on the left flank before jinking and weaving his way towards the angle of the penalty box.

With his two markers continuing to stand off him, the Hearts midfielder unleashed a low shot from just outside the box that flashed past Peter Enckleman at his near post.

Buoyed by his opener, Templeton was causing all sorts of problems. Indeed his quick feet were too much for David Roberston, who was booked for chopping him down right under the nose of Thomson.

Saints looked dangerous on the counter-attack, particularly when they got the ball to Francisco Sandaza, but a lack of service to the striker was severely hampering their attempts to draw level.

Hearts controlled the first half and it really should have been 2-0 just before the break when Templeton caused more carnage on the left and then cut back a deft pass into Scott Robinson’s path.

But, from just six yards, Robinson miscued with the goal at his mercy, allowing St Johnstone to scramble clear.

Sheridan was introduced at the break for Robertson as the visitors reverted to a more familiar 4-4-2 and within a minute the big Irishman was making his presence felt.

Power and pace enabled him to break clear and then chip a perfectly weighted ball on to the head of Sandaza who was lurking unmarked at the back post.

The big hitman looked odds on to grab the equaliser only to crash his effort against the bar when it appeared easier to score.

Moments later, Hearts survived another major scare when David McCracken rose well to bullet a Craig corner goalwards only for the well-positioned McGowan to clear off the line.

On the hour mark, it was the visitors’ turn to get the rub of the green as Mackay clearly handled in the penalty area as he jostled with McGowan at an Ian Black free-kick.

The referee had a first class view of the incident but, despite vociferous appeals from the Hearts players, he was having none of it.

Thomson found himself at the centre of another storm in 73 minutes when he dismissed Mackay for a second bookable offence.

The St Johnstone defender, yellow carded at the start of the second period for dissent, caught Templeton on the arm with a high boot as he attempted to clear the ball. It looked accidental but the referee had no hesitation in sending him off.

That should have been the cue for Hearts to press home their numerical superiority but they were caught with a sucker punch in 77 minutes when Sandaza took advantage of sub Mehdi Taouil’s poor touch to spring the offside trap and release Sheridan.

The substitute finished with aplomb, racing clear and drilled a low shot beyond MacDonald to earn his side a deserved replay.

Sheridan said: “When Dave was sent off we all dug deep together. It was a test of our team spirit and that’s never an issue.”

Taken from the Daily Record