Burke: Laurentiu is still No.1 man after he said sorry to us all
LAURENTIU BRANESCU almost cost Kilmarnock the win against Hearts in midweek but Chris Burke praised him for his post-match apology.
The on-loan Juventus keeper first of all cleaned out Heats sub Conor Washington to concede a late penalty at Tynecastle with Alex Dyer’s side leading 3-0.
Branescu was booked for the foul before being beaten at Sean Clare’s spot-kick.
It was then he decided to throw the ball away with Clare and Co trying to retrieve it, leaving ref David Munro no option but to show him a second yellow within a minute.
That gave Hearts far more encouragement than they were expecting – and Branescu would’ve been a worried man when Craig Halkett reduced the deficit to one with just a few minutes left.
His team-mates stood firm though and held on to secure a big three points.
But the contrition shown by the Romanian impressed the experienced Burke.
Rather than rage at the 25-year-old, saying sorry earned him a round of applause from the rest of the squad.
And Burke, who netted Killie’s second, said: “What was good about Laurentiu is that he came straight in and apologised to the group. He spoke very well and the boys all appreciate that.
“It was a moment of madness and he did say that he hopes to learn from it – and I’m sure he will. As long as you don’t make the same mistake twice.
“It’s a massive learning curve for him, he is still progressing in the game and as a keeper and knows he was in the wrong.
“I would expect that [ fronting up] from the whole group. It’s what we demand in training and everybody is accountable.”