Jamie's shoot-out success

01.11.2012

Hearts number one Jamie MacDonald was the hero as his stunning saves secured victory in Wednesday night's dramatic penalty shoot-out victory at Tannadice.

The ten-man Jambos - their numbers reduced after a 78th minute red card to Darren Barr - secured passage to the semi-finals of the Scottish Communities League Cup, ending a dramatic night in Dundee with a tension-filled 5-4 victory after penalties had gone to sudden death.
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A delighted Jamie bounded gleefully into the press suite at Tannadice to share his joy and to reveal his strategy for penalties - including putting off opponents.

"Part of it's guessing where the ball will go, but educated guessing", said Jamie. "You try to read how a player approaches the ball, and I think I got close to every penalty, even the ones they scored".

Jamie took his time before each kick, delaying his opponent from shooting for as long as possible, and spinning the ball up in the air just in the hope of distracting them.

"It's a bit of mind games, try to make the player not focus on the penalty and focus on you instead," explained the 'keeper. "You want to give them something else to think about to add the pressure".

Another talking point in the lead-up to the match would be the showdown between Hearts and former player Rudi Skacel, who now plys his trade in the City of Discovery for the Terrors.

When asked what he had said to Rudi - who was nominated not to take a penalty kick by manager Peter Houston after Barr's red card - Jamie coyly admitted he'd told the Czech that he wouldn't get past him!

"I just said 'Unlucky, you're not going to score past me tonight'. He never even scored in training against me! I just told him he was unfortunate, especially since he wasn't allowed to take a penalty".

Lastly, with Hearts celebrating the 50th anniversary of their last League Cup win in recent days, the spotlight has shifted to today's team as potential winners yet again.

With May's Scottish Cup triumph still fresh in the memory, Jamie admitted he and his team-mates had been blessed to experience the glory of May 19th and were desperate to add to their medal hauls.

"It would be amazing to get another bit of silverware, this summer was incredible and it's been too long since we last won the League Cup so we'll look to rectify that now"

"To get back to Hampden so quickly is great, and winning the cup is high on our list of priorities.

Hearts World