Bridcutt: I won the ball against Erik

SCOTLAND midfielder Liam Bridcutt has defended his two-footed tackle on Celtic star Erik Sviatchenko — and insisted he would never set out to hurt an opponent. Sviatchenko was outraged by the thunderous challenge late in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win for Scotland over Denmark at Hampden, claiming his leg could have been broken. Denmark boss Age Hareide went further by claiming the central defender’s career could have been ended. But Leeds player Bridcutt, who came on as a substitute to earn a second cap three years after his first, declared: ‘I won the

ball. Anyone who knows me knows how I play — I’m always fully committed in the tackle. ‘I don’t go in to hurt people. I never have and never will. For me, it was one of those things. ‘You see those tackles in the Championship so, for me, it was normal. I didn’t think it was a bad tackle, the ball was there to be won and I had to go for it.’ Addressing the furious Danish reaction to the incident, the 26-year-old pointed out: ‘They were a bit up in arms with my tackle, but I was on the end of one a few moments earlier. It was from behind and I didn’t react, I just got on with the game. ‘I’m a fair guy and it was never my intention to hurt someone or injure someone. I play fair. At the end of the day, we’re all fellow professionals and we look after each other. ‘I saw the player (Sviatchenko) at the end and I said the ball was there to be won. I said sorry if I caught him, it was just one of those things. ‘It was a good night. It was good to be back in international football because I had a long period out due to injury. I’m fully fit now and enjoying it. ‘I knew it was going to be tough to get back in but the form I’m in just now has shown to people that I’m back. ‘The manager said at the end it is all about winning games and that was our second in a week. We’ve got a good record in friendlies and it’s about building for the next round of qualifiers.’ Sviatchenko got little sympathy from Celtic skipper Scott Brown, who was quick to protect Bridcutt as the Danish players rounded on him. But both players did agree on one thing — how impressive their Celtic team-mate Kieran Tierney was on his Scotland debut. The 18-year-old left-back made a goal-saving tackle and looked assured before making way for Charlie Mulgrew at half-time. Sviatchenko said: ‘I saw his first half from the bench and lots of my Denmark team-mates said: “This guy is really good”. ‘It’s good for Celtic and it’s good for Scotland to have this young lad coming through and playing so well. He has taken to it like he is 30 years old. It’s unbelievable.’