McInnes wanted penalty to wreck Jambos’ party
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes last night praised record-breaking Hearts – but insists his Dons should have wrecked their party.
He reckons they were denied a clear-cut penalty and should have buried one of their many chances.
Keeper Jon McLaughlin was Hearts’ hero as they achieved a club record sixth clean-sheet in a row.
McInnes said: “Jon’s save from Adam Rooney is as good as you will see. You can see why Hearts have kept so many clean-sheets. They defend with resilience and came here to be a counter-attacking team and frustrate us.”
But McInnes believes ref John Beaton should have given his side a chance to end that run from the spot after Jamie Brandon handled.
He said: “Young Brandon had a clear handball which I felt should have been a penalty but we just didn’t have that last pass and were guilty of missing a few chances.
“We were guilty of not putting the ball in the back of the net. I’m not too down.
“I’m disappointed we haven’t won for the crowd. The roof would have come off had we got the goal.
“I’m optimistic about the second half of the season. The new lads are more aware of the demands and what is expected.”
Hearts boss Craig Levein claimed
Kyle Lafferty had been harshly sent off for a foul on Graeme Shinnie late in the game. But McInnes said: “It’s a red card. A manager will always defend his players but I don’t think it can be defended.
“It’s a complete rush of blood – he comes in at 100 miles an hour. It was reckless.”