Brown's men almost 'mugged' by weary Hearts

Frank Gilfeather

John McGlynn, the Hearts manager, admitted last night that his tired team would have been guilty of grand larceny had they left Aberdeen with a victory in an absorbing Clydesdale Bank Premier League game at Pittodrie.

A goalless draw flattered the visitors, who displayed weariness following their midweek Europa League play-off match against Liverpool. As it was, they almost snatched what would have been a stunning, if undeserved, winner with seconds of the match remaining when an Andrew Driver shot rattled the post.

"If we had scored it would have felt like we had mugged them," said McGlynn. "We would have taken it, but I think it would have been very harsh had we walked away with all three points."

McGlynn is not without his problems, however, ahead of Thursday's second leg at Liverpool as Marius Zaliukas suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury and was not risked for the second half.

"He had a jag to play against Liverpool," said the manager, "and he had another before today's match. Leading up to half-time he felt it and we thought it best to take him off and put Darren Barr into the centre of defence. We will just have to wait and see how he progresses."

Craig Brown, the Aberdeen manager, hopes his side can emulate the triumphs of golfer Paul Lawrie, who texted him after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and urged him to follow his lead by beating Hearts.

"He supports us and we support him," said Brown. "He is successful and we are trying to be successful and we congratulate him.

"I think had we lost the goal at the end it would have been a real travesty. I can't fault the team in any way apart from the lack of goals."

Brown had to remove full back Gary Naysmith in the second half. The former Hearts and Everton player limped off with a torn hamstring and thinks he could be out for some time. His manager described him as "despondent".

Taken from the Herald