Cosgrove tackle never a red card, says McInnes
ABERDEEN boss Derek McInnes last night defended Sam Cosgrove over his Parkhead sending-off — and claimed Celtic manager Neil Lennon agreed with his opinion that the striker’s tackle on Kristoffer Ajer was ‘never’ a red card. Cosgrove was dismissed by referee Euan Anderson for a lunge on Celtic defender Ajer soon after Odsonne Edouard had scored what proved to be the clinching goal in a 2-1 victory for the champions.
Although Cosgrove played the ball, the official adjudged the tackle to have been dangerous, just as Hibs’ Ryan Porteous’ lunge on Rangers full-back Borna Barisic was deemed reckless in the match at Easter Road on Friday night.
McInnes disagreed, however, describing the tackle as ‘brilliant’ even as he admitted Cosgrove’s speed was such that he would have hurt Ajer had he made full impact.
‘The ref had a good game but it’s a poor decision,’ said the Dons manager. ‘People have already put it in the same bracket as Ryan
Porteous’ tackle but it’s nothing like it. He clearly made contact with the player. I’ve watched Sam’s 50 times and he’s won the ball cleanly.
‘If he goes in at speed and hits the player, you can understand the sending-off. ‘You have to make sure you get the ball and, 100 per cent, it’s a brilliant tackle. He probably doesn’t need to go in as quickly but he gets it cleanly.
‘Ajer was lying on the ground laughing and winking at him. There was nothing wrong with the boy, he carried on.
‘If Sam hits Ajer at that speed, Ajer’s hurt. And he’s clearly not hurt. It’s a brilliant tackle.’
Celtic assistant John Kennedy, who addressed the media post-match, was neither condemnatory nor forgiving of Cosgrove in a cagey interview. He said: ‘I don’t think he (Cosgrove) fully catches him, he just nicks him.
‘But in the modern game, when you fly in at that speed, and there is a form of recklessness about it, you give the referee a decision to make. And in his eyes it was a red card.’ According to McInnes, Lennon was more forthright.
‘I’ve just spoken to Lenny and the first thing he said to me was that no way was it a red card,’ he added. ‘Even he thinks we’ve been harshly treated there.
‘I’m not saying it would have changed the course of the result but it certainly gives us a better chance if Cosgrove stays on the pitch.’
While McInnes fought his player’s corner, Cosgrove’s team-mate Scott McKenna took a more considered view of the incident.
He said: ‘You’ve seen it happen numerous times, players being sent off for taking the ball, but it’s just the pace they’ve gone in at.
‘You have to be clever. If you can’t win it, or you need to use excessive speed to get there, then just don’t tackle.
‘I think it’s too easy to go flying into tackles, take the ball and just say: “I won the ball”.
‘Even though there’s no contact, they say you’re endangering an opponent and you’ll get sent off.’
On a more positive note, McInnes reserved praise for McKenna’s performance that, for large parts of the afternoon, subdued Edouard.
‘The last time we played Celtic, we were so poor in all aspects of the game,’ said McInnes. ‘Today we can look people in the eye because it was a competitive performance from my team.
‘McKenna was outstanding. Everyone expects so much from him and people pick on little mistakes.
‘Watch his performance — he was immense against a good player.’