Hearts' friendly with Almeria had to be stopped after a brawl led to red cards for Alex Cochrane and Rodrigo Ely.
Robbie Neilson took his team out to Spain to prepare for the Scottish Premiership return in two weeks and things could hardly have got off to a worse start as they lost 4-0 to Blackburn Rovers during the week. The Jambos boss though insisted it was a good run-out and he was hopeful for another fruitful 90 minutes against La Liga side Almeria.
The Spaniards took the lead shortly before the half hour mark with Dyego Sousa slotting in the opener. But the football itself was thrust into the rear-view mirror as half-time approached when a brawl broke out between the players and coaching staff. Diario de Almeria claim Cochrane initiated it by throwing a punch at Ely, which sparked a "mass brawl." Punches were thrown after tensions had been building between the two teams throughout the first half.
Ross Stewart had earlier saved a penalty after Orestis Kiomourtzoglou was adjudged to have handled the ball and it seems there was very little "friendly" about the non-competitive action in Spain. After the chaos led to red cards for Cochrane and Ely, Hearts boss Neilson took his players off the pitch and the game was abandoned before half-time.
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