Robertson Hails Honest Dennis

By Ronnie Esplin, PA Sport

Hearts head coach John Robertson jokingly claimed striker Dennis Wyness was too honest after the former Inverness player refused to claim the Gorgie side’s first goal in their 3-1 CIS Insurance Cup quarter-final victory over Dunfermline at East End Park.

Jambos stopper Andy Webster’s 32nd-minute header had looped over Pars goalkeeper Derek Stillie and was heading over the line before Wyness appeared to finish it off for what looked like his goal.

In the second half, Dunfermline substitute Billy Mehmet equalised for the home side, but a Paul Hartley penalty and a late strike by Hearts substitute Joe Hamill was enough to make the confusion over the visitors’ first goal seem almost irrelevant.

But afterwards, Robertson revealed Wyness had admitted the ball was over the line from Webster’s header and the Gorgie boss said: “We saw the real Dennis Wyness, he was starting to play a bit and that’s a massive boost for this football club.

“But if I was Dennis, I would have run away with my hand in the air and probably claimed the goal, but he is a much more honest lad than me.

“Dennis said the ball was over the line so it was Andy Webster’s goal.”

Robertson admitted he was delighted to be in the semi-finals and insisted his side had deserved their victory.

He said: “It was a very pleasing result for me. I said before the game that you get nothing easy in Fife and it was like that.

“I thought we had slightly the better of the first half and we got ahead with Andy’s goal.

“But all credit to Dunfermline, they came out in the second half, changed their system and then got the equaliser.

“But we showed the composure I was looking for, we passed the ball really well and they got the two goals.

“We deserved to win.

“It’s a lift to be in the semi-finals next February, but now we need to concentrate on Kilmarnock on Saturday and that’s a big game for us. We’ve got to go there and compete and pass as well as we did against Dunfermline.”

Beaten Pars boss Davie Hay revealed that managerless Inverness had made an approach for coach Paul Hegarty at the weekend but had yet to follow up their initial enquiry.

He said: “I think their chief executive Graeme Bennett might have spoken to Jim Leishman (executive director of football) on Saturday but there has been nothing since from them.

“But I think it was an informal talk rather than a formal one.”

Hay was unhappy about the performance of referee Hugh Dallas and highlighted the Hearts penalty – when Dunfermline defender Richie Byrne fouled Jambos full-back Robbie Neilson in the Pars’ box – as only one of several mistakes he thought the official had made.

He said: “I thought our ‘keeper Derek Stillie had been impeded before they got the penalty but there were other instances when I think he got decisions wrong.

“At that point in the game, he got some important calls wrong but he makes the decisions and it’s his opinion that matters.

“We are disappointed to get knocked out of the cup but as far as commitment goes, I can’t fault any of our players.”

Taken from sportinglife.com