‘Crazy, brilliant’ Big Bobby won it for Hearts
Hearts match-winner Olly Lee admitted a bit of craziness can sometimes help a team find success. The former Luton Town midfielder’s goal will be down in the record books as being responsible for the Jambos beating Dunfermline to reach the last eight of this season’s League Cup. But more important were the saves from madcap keeper ‘Big Bobby’ Zlamal. Lee acknowledged the players were grateful for his contribution, especially after they’d squandered a couple of breakaway chances. He said: “Big Bobby has been brilliant since he’s come in. He’s a crazy goalkeeper, as most of them are, but he’s pulled off some unbelievable saves in this game. “We had a couple of late chances we should have probably taken better and we didn’t want to go to extra time. “Bobby has bailed us out. He’s been brilliant between the sticks. “We made it hard work for ourselves. We didn’t start as brightly as we planned and credit to Dunfermline, they made it tough for us. “Thankfully, we got the victory we came for. I was pleased to get the goal. “It turned into a scrappy game and we weren’t as fluid as we would have liked to be. “Sometimes that happens. You get games where you just have to grind it out.” Speculation continues about the future of Kyle Lafferty, but Lee, son of Newcastle legend Rob Lee, isn’t overly concerned. He added: “We want Kyle to stay. He has been great fun and I enjoy playing with him. “Hopefully, he stays, but, if not, we have other players who can step up and score a lot of goals.” Dunfermline manager Allan Johnston was proud of his players, despite crashing out of the cup. He said: “We pushed Hearts all the way and their keeper pulled off two saves which won them the game. “On another day we would have won the game with the chances we created. “We looked a much better team in the way we passed the ball. “There were a lot of good performances apart from switching off for a second at the goal. “I asked James Craigen to man-mark Steven Naismith and he took him out of the game.” Johnston was frustrated to have lost, but believes yesterday’s showing gives hope for the immediate future of the club. He went on: “You could see by the reaction of the fans how much they appreciated the effort of the players. “It was a brilliant atmosphere and we want more of that. We want to be in the Premiership again and, hopefully, this pushes us on.”