JAMBOS RALLY TO SUPPORT LAFF:

Don backs gutted hitman to step up if Jambos get a vital spot-kick v Well

His head was down in the dressing room but we’ll pick him up

DON COWIE

DON COWIE admits Hearts penalty sinner Kyle Lafferty needed a group hug after costing his side a win over Kilmarnock.

But the midfielder has backed the Northern Irishman to step back up to the mark if his side are awarded a spotkick at Motherwell on Sunday.

Lafferty fluffed a stoppagetime effort from 12 yards as the Jambos had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw.

But Cowie believes his team-mate will be fine for the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Fir Park after a bit of dressingroom love and care.

He said: “Kyle will need lifted a wee bit after that. He’s a goalscorer and when you get the chance so late in the game there’s no real time to rectify it when you miss.

“So that was disappointing for him. But it happens. People miss penalties all the time, we move on. We wanted him to score, he didn’t and that’s it.

“His head was down in the dressing room but we’ll pick him up and make sure he is ready and if we get a penalty against Motherwell I’m sure he’ll be first one wanting to take it.

“He’s that sort of person, that sort of player. He has a striker’s instincts and wants to score goals. Anyone can miss a penalty but it’s about having the courage to take the next one. Kyle has that.”

Lafferty both won and assumed responsibility for the penalty that was saved by Killie keeper Jamie MacDonald.

Cowie couldn’t complain about the draw as he’s convinced the two clubs aren’t far apart in form and progression under new management.

He said: “It probably looked like a draw was a fair result but when you get the penalty you want to score and turn the point into three – and it would have been a great three points against a team on a very good run of form.

“Killie are a bit like us having gone through a change of manager and are resilient and hard to beat.

“We’ve probably drawn too many games and we want to turn those draws into wins. But credit to them they’re on an unbelievable run of form.”

One of the huge positives for Hearts was striker Steven Naismith getting his first goal since arriving in January.

Cowie said: “The club pulled out all the stops to get Steven and it’s been frustrating he hasn’t been able to play more.

“But now we have a massive game at Motherwell on Sunday and hopefully with that 90 minutes under his belt he’ll be ready and raring to go.

“I’m sure we’ll see the best of him in the longer term between now and the end of the season.

“To see him back out there was great, especially completing 90 minutes, and getting his first goal. That can only be good for us.”

Cowie also believes a cup run is on the agenda. He said: “What Hearts need to be doing is getting to the latter stages of cup competitions and we’ve not managed that.

“This is my first quarterfinal here and I’ll not be hiding what a massive game it is.

“It will be a hard game but one we believe we can come through.”