Sammon rues linesman’s flag
CONOR SAMMON confessed to a sense of frustration after seeing the assistant referee’s flag cost him a perfectly good goal against Birkirkara as he desperately searches for his maiden strike in Hearts colours.
However, he remains confident the capital club can finish the job at Tynecastle on Thursday night as he expressed his desire to provide a shot in the arm for Scottish football.
The big Irishman showed quick reactions and superb composure to latch on to a Prince Buaben pass after just three minutes in Malta before slipping the ball beyond goalkeeper Miroslav Kopric.
However, he was adjudged to have strayed into an offside position – a sign of things to come for the Jambos during a 0-0 stalemate, in which they dominated but simply could not find the breakthrough.
Sammon’s disappointment is exacerbated by the fact that he is yet to find the net for the club since joining from Derby in the close season – but he is determined to hit the goal trail in the second leg.
“Straight away I thought it was a good goal but I glanced over quite quickly and I saw the linesman with his flag up,” he rued. “I’ve looked at the video and it’s quite difficult to tell from the footage we have, but I still think I’m onside.
“It is frustrating. You come in wanting to hit the ground running and you want to score as soon as you can.
“It’s just one of those things that sometimes go against you. We kept going but we couldn’t break the deadlock.
“It would’ve been nice to get that away goal but we have lots of positives to take from the game.
“It’s nice that I did put it away, even though it was given offside. It just gets me into that habit of taking chances. I’m excited for the upcoming games and hopefully I’ll get my first goal.”