Robbie Neilson has backed Zander Clark to more than fill the massive void left by Craig Gordon’s horror double leg break. The Scotland and Hearts No. 1 was stretchered off after a full-on Tannadice collision with Dundee United’s Steven Fletcher.
Clark came off the bench to replace Gordon to make his Hearts debut and his first appearance of the season. The Scotland squad keeper is now set to make his first start when Hearts head to his former club St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday night. Neilson confirmed: “The reason we brought Zander in was because with Craig we hoped to be resting him, but he will be out for a longer period. It gives Zander the chance to come in. He is an international goalkeeper and I’m sure he will look forward to it.”
Clark came through the ranks of the Perth club and lifted both cup competitions there before he left on freedom of contract in the summer. He eventually moved to Tynecastle at the start of the season to provide back-up and competition for Gordon.
Hearts will head to the Fair City without Gordon and are also likely to be without a couple of their first-choice defenders. Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley both went off injured in the costly 2-2 draw at Tannadice.
Halkett had just come back from injury and appeared to jar his knee and went off after a few minutes. Neilson has revealed Halkett will need to get the injury scanned as a precaution. Kingsley then went off after a head knock. The Hearts medical team will put him through the relevant checks before they give him the green light to return.
Neilson knows that he could be down in options but still reckons he has got more than enough quality and depth to cover. The Hearts head coach insisted: "We have got (Kye) Rowles, (Toby) Sibbick (Harry) Cochrane, (Michael) Smith and (Andy) Halliday. It is fine. Yes, it is frustrating because we keep talking about that back three and trying to get it. We just can’t quite get there. We are third in the league with a game-in-hand. Again having a few injuries we just need to keep battling away.”
Hearts don’t have a great record in Perth and that is something they are keen to rectify. Neilson is also well aware that St Johnstone have kicked on again under Callum Davidson this season. Hearts also have the incentive that they have now drawn level on points with Aberdeen in third place, although their rivals have a better goal difference.
“They (St Johnstone) are much improved and they are doing very well at the moment,” Neilson acknowledged. “It will be a tough game because it always is. We haven’t won many games up there but if we play football the way we can and we can do it for the majority of the game then we should have enough, but we need to do that. It would be great to finish the year on a high and in third position. “It would allow us to kick on.”
Neilson will be hoping for a quieter night on Wednesday when it comes to the officials and VAR than he saw during their controversial draw at Dundee United. He watched as penalties for both teams were given and then reversed.
Hearts then rescued a late point with a penalty which even Neilson didn’t think should have gone his team’s way, as Lawrence Shankland went down beside Ross Graham beside him.
Neilson claimed: “I don’t know, how do they go to VAR? They talk about clear and obvious mistakes, but if that is the case then the first one (Djoum handball) is not a clear and obvious mistake. If it is a handball then it is handball. Sometimes it can be exciting but with everything that is going on it is becoming a bit of a shambles.”
The other two penalties that were cancelled out saw Arnaud Djoum handle the ball as he blocked Cammy Devlin’s shot and then Craig Gordon got to the ball before Steven Fletcher, which led to the Hearts captain being carried off. The United striker also went off moments later.
“The penalties are shambolic to be honest with you,” Neilson added. I thought Cammy’s was a penalty. He (Djoum) has put his hands down to make his body bigger. The one they gave against Craig is astounding,
“It is just astounding that he thinks it is a penalty. I don’t know what he is thinking about. Even if Fletcher had got a touch, Craig had made a save and the ball went 90 degrees to the side. Fletcher didn’t even get a touch and for me it is just baffling. I didn’t think our penalty at the end was one either. “I think that was the wrong decision.”
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