| Report Index--> 2006-07--> All for 20060806 | ||||
| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 06 Aug 2006 Hearts 2 Celtic 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | Mark Wilson | auth-> | Stuart Dougal |
| [S Petrov 65] | ||||
| 51 | of 085 | Roman Bednar 49 ;Roman Bednar 87 | L SPL | H |
|
Bednar: we have the quality to win the title MARK WILSON at Tynecastle August 07 2006 Last season, Roman Bednar bulldozed one half of the Old Firm before being brutally halted by injury. Yesterday he expressed confidence of rolling Hearts all the way to the Bank of Scotland Premierleague title. Bednar turned in a barnstorming second half against Celtic at Tynecastle, scoring twice and only being denied a hat trick by an offside decision TV pictures proved incorrect. The broad smile he wore afterwards was in stark contrast to the grimace that followed his match-winning goal to defeat Rangers last September when, in the same match, his knee ligaments ruptured to force three months of rehabilitation. Bednar returned to intermittent fitness but never fully re-established his potency as Hearts' title challenge slowly evaporated. The second match of the new season may not be the apt time for bold predictions, but the Czech feels a marker has been laid down of their intent not to make the same mistake twice. "Hopefully that is the case," said Bednar, who already has four goals this season. "I think we have a very good squad and we showed that throughout last season. If we work as hard as we did today then we can win every game. But we must keep up the workrate. "I think we can win the championship. It's football and I think we have the quality to win the league." Gary Cheyne was the assistant referee whose flag shot up in error when Bednar was released by the impressive Bruno Aguiar midway through the second half. With the score only 1-0 at that point, it could have been a costly misjudgment by the official. Bednar, though, was sanguine about the incident and preferred to birch himself for earlier lapses. "It should have been three or even more because I had two good headed chances before I scored the first," he said. "Still, I'm happy to finish the game like this. "It all happened so fast that I didn't know whether I was offside or not when I thought I'd scored my second, but everyone told me afterwards it was the wrong decision. To be honest, I don't really care. I was more angry that I missed those chances before it. If the referee says it's offside then there's nothing I can do about it." The winning goal three minutes from time was presented to Bednar on a plate by Neil Lennon, as the Celtic captain launched a half-hearted back-pass that landed several yards short of Artur Boruc. The striker admitted he was relieved not to be toppled by the Polish goalkeeper but also claimed vindication for his efforts in sniffing out half-chances. "I scored a goal like this in the home leg against Siroki Brijeg [in the Champions League qualifier]," said Bednar. "I work hard and make the runs everywhere because these mistakes are always possible in games. It's just a part of football. "Already I have two goals from defenders passing it back and that shows it's always worthwhile to make the run." Having won the battle of Scotland's two Champions League contenders, Bednar is relishing the fight to make the group stages. AEK visit Murrayfield on Wednesday for the first leg of a tie worth at least £6m to the victors. "Games against Celtic are that little bit bigger and can give us confidence," said Bednar. "It was very important for us before playing AEK, which will be another huge game for us. We've been working in pre-season and waiting for this for a long, long time." Balancing a successful domestic season with the demands of European competition requires a squad with a depth of quality and reliability in reserve. Bednar feels Valdas Ivanuaskas can now select from such a pool after beating Celtic without Takis Fyssas, Paul Hartley or Edgaras Jankauskas. "We have a bigger squad that has taken in some new players," said Bednar. "Ibrahim [Tall] did well and was unlucky to be injured; I don't know how bad it is just now. "Lee Wallace also came into the side at left-back and played a good game. The whole team did well and, if someone is injured or tired, then we have the capability to play a different starting XI."  Taken from the Herald |
||||
| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 06 Aug 2006 Hearts 2 Celtic 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| 