Lee rues failure to pack a punch
THE blows that did for Hearts’ hopes of winning the League Cup for the first time since 1962 came in various forms.
If Steven Naismith’s departure after just eight minutes while nursing his knee was simply a freak occurrence sustained in combat, the two goals conceded to Celtic in 13 second-half minutes were self-inflicted uppercuts.
Oliver Bozanic’s clipping of Ryan Christie inside his own penalty box was clumsy and unnecessary. Zdenek Zlamal’s handling of the Celtic substitute’s deflected shot was akin to a drunk man trying to catch a balloon.
This was the main source of Hearts’ angst. Not so much that they lost a game 30,000 supporters felt they would win. But how they lost it.
‘In the first half, we felt we acquitted ourselves well,’ said midfielder Olly Lee. ‘We were well in the game. We just needed the rub of the green. If we had got that first goal, something to frustrate them a little bit more, it could have been different.
‘At half-time, we thought we were doing really well. I thought we were comfortable, really. We just needed to get that first chance. But when they scored the first goal, it deflated us. We couldn’t dig it out from there.
‘Celtic are a good side. They have played in the Champions League and won the Treble in the last couple of years. But we have beaten them once this season, so we knew we were capable of it.
‘Getting the first goal would have been massive. We could have frustrated them a bit more. It’s an old saying, but goals change games.’
When Christie hit the turf after being caught by the Australian’s knee, any doubt in referee Willie Collum’s mind about the legitimacy of the spot-kick he awarded would have been erased by the lack of complaint from the Hearts man.
Craig Levein publicly rebuked Bozanic for his lack of protest after the game, claiming the award had been soft.
As a wise man once said, though, penalties are like eggs. Soft or hard, they are still eggs. And, tellingly, no one in the Hearts camp claimed it was not a penalty.
‘I thought it was soft, to be honest,’ added Lee (right). ‘But he had an opportunity to go down, he has taken it and got the penalty. You need the rub of the green in these games.
‘We felt we were doing well up until then. We didn’t react as well as we could have. We should have bounced back better. But it wasn’t to be.’
Zlamal has been exceptional for Levein’s side in goal this season. Accordingly, for all the Czech fumbled horribly at a routine shot to allow James Forrest to put Celtic two goals ahead, support, as opposed to condemnation, duly followed.
‘He was disappointed and he has said sorry, but he has saved us so many times this season, so he didn’t need to do that,’ said Lee.
‘He has been brilliant. It was a credit to him that he took responsibility, but it was just unfortunate.
‘We just said: “It’s fine”. He has saved us a number of times this season. We would be on fewer points without him. He didn’t need to say anything, but that’s the kind of guy he is.
‘He pulled off some great saves which kept the scoreline respectable.’
The crucial matter now, for Levein, is ensuring one bad day at the office doesn’t bleed into what has been an excellent league campaign to date. The sight of 30,000 Hearts supporters inside Murrayfield spoke volumes for the belief there is in his recalibrated side. From the players’ perspective, the visit of Hibernian tomorrow represents the perfect opportunity to repay a debt due. ‘It was ridiculous,’ Lee said of the Hearts following in a 61,161 crowd. ‘I can’t tell you how much the lads appreciated it. We were all buzzing to be going out there at the start. ‘It is the reason I came up here. We are striving to be involved in these games a lot. It was a first taste for us. There will be a lot more to come. We can’t thank them enough for their support. It was a shame we couldn’t get a result.
‘But we have got another big game on Wednesday night. That is the great thing about football. You can look to the next big game. Hopefully we can go and beat Hibs. If we do that, everyone will feel better again.’
If their title tilt is to be extended into the new year, it will have survived extraordinary adversity.
Already without Christophe Berra, John Souttar and Uche Ikpeazu prior to the game with Celtic, the sight of Naismith clutching his knee while unchallenged was deeply worrying for all concerned.
‘Losing Steven was a big blow,’ added Lee. ‘He is the leader of our team. We have lost a lot of leaders this season. We keep bouncing back and we keep proving people wrong, but Sunday was a step too far for us.’