TIERNEY: IT WAS HORRIBLE CHALLENGE

From Back Page another lengthy lay-off flashed into his head as soon as he hit the deck.

Tierney said: “Straight away I thought something bad had happened. He caught me on the kneecap. It was a horrible challenge.

“It was sore. You kind of know sometimes when you have done something and I thought it was bad.

“He caught me high and my knee is all cut. I feared the worst but thankfully it was okay. I got lucky.

“Having just come back from injury the last thing I wanted was another one.

“The pitch has a bobble on it but there are no excuses. It was a bad tackle.” Referee Don Robertson stunned the majority of the crowd by only brandishing a yellow and Tierney admits the punishment could have been more severe.

He added: “He (Bowman) just said sorry to me after it. I didn’t say much back.

“I thought straight away it was a red card. If you look at my knee and the fact he caught me with his studs that high, then you’d think it would be.

“But that’s not my decision. The knee should be fine hopefully. It is sore but other than that it’s fine.”

Tierney’s performance against the Fir Park outfit was witnessed by Gunners scout McDermott.

Arsenal have been keeping tabs on the fullback for a year and the Emirates talent spotter ran the rule over him again from the Main Stand along with Dembele, who scored his 27th goal of the season.

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