Craig Levein says performance of Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis left him feeling "robbed"
Craig Levein felt “robbed” by Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis after his return to the Hearts hot-seat ended in a goalless Ladbrokes Premiership draw with the Dons at Murrayfield.
Last updated 9th Sep 2017
Craig Levein felt “robbed” by Aberdeen goalkeeper Joe Lewis after his return to the Hearts hot-seat ended in a goalless Ladbrokes Premiership draw with the Dons at Murrayfield.
The former Scotland boss, previously in charge of the Tynecastle club from 2000 until 2004, added the managerial post to his director of football role after the departure of head coach Ian Cathro.
All the dugout emotions returned in the first of three home games played at the home of Scottish rugby while Tynecastle's main stand is being refurbished, as Lewis denied the Gorgie side with several outstanding saves.
When Lewis was eventually beaten by Jambos striker Isma Goncalves in the second half, the crossbar came to his aid.
Levein said: “Once I have got over the disappointment of not winning the game there will be lots of positive things to build on next week. But I am feeling robbed a little bit.
“I give an enormous amount of credit to Aberdeen and in particular their goalkeeper, I thought he was outstanding today.
“I couldn't really blame our strikers for not hitting the target because they did that. I just thought he was outstanding.
“Sometimes the Aberdeen players who get the credit are the forward players and today it felt like he single handedly kept us at bay.”
The former Hearts and Scotland defender admitted that, like a player, he will need a few weeks to get back to feeling his best in a managerial capacity.
Asked how he felt to be back in the dugout, Levein said: “Not as clear-headed as I wanted to be.
“Another two or three games and a bit more training I will be feeling a bit more like it.”
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes acknowledged the performance of his goalkeeper in keeping their unbeaten run to the season intact.
The Dons are behind leaders Celtic on goal difference after four wins and a draw in their first five league games.
He said: “Hearts have good players. For whatever reason they have not been getting results over the last little while, they have got good players and I think they showed that in the second half.
“We have our goalkeeper to be thankful for and our defenders for the clean sheet
“By and large we defended well but a good goalkeeper will win you points when you are not at your best, we have seen that time and again and Lewis has done that for us.
“We lick our wounds, we came here to win but if we are honest a point is no more than we deserved and I think we were more pleased to hear the final whistle than Hearts."