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HEARTS manager Robbie Neilson refused to blame Jordan McGhee after the defender's late handball cost Hearts the game against Aberdeen.

McGhee had looked to be under no pressure as he leapt for a cross but threw his arm up and handled the ball, giving Dons forward Adam Rooney the opportunity to score from the penalty spot with just three minutes left to leave the final score 1-0 to the home side.

While Neilson admits he was disappointed to throw away a point in such a manner, he accepts that youngsters such as McGhee will make mistakes, and said: "I'm disappointed with the way we lost, but that's football.

(Image: SNS Group)

"If you don't want to see mistakes like that, you don't play kids. We're a team that's going to produce young players, and we're going to have to accept mistakes. He's played left-back in the biggest game in Scotland this weekend, and I thought he was magnificent.

"We've come a long way. We're sitting here disappointed to only take a point at Pittodrie in a game we could have won."

Neilson withdrew Miguel Pallardo just after the half-hour mark, soon after the Spaniard had been booked, and admitted he was worried the midfielder could have been sent off.

He added: "In big games you can make one tackle and get a yellow card. You make another and it's borderline whether you get a red card. It's a decision that had to be made.

"It was a very tight game, and we're disappointed not to take anything from it. I think we've progressed and are going in the right direction."

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes admitted a degree of sympathy for McGhee after his error, saying: "Although young Jordan made the mistake, I feel for him because he played well. I think David Goodwillie's presence spooked him a bit, but it's a real bonus for us.

"Sometimes tight, hard-fought games like that are decided on fine margins. Sometimes it's a bit of quality, and sometimes it's a mistake. Today it's gone for us, and I think we deserved it over the game."

McInnes praised the tenacity of his players, adding: "Sometimes you just have to dig deep, as we did. Hearts deserve credit for that, but the game was a bit too stop-start. It was hard for the referee to manage, and hard for us to get into a rhythm.

"We expected a tough match, and it was exactly that. I have no problem with that, and that side of the game is good for me. I think that was the main reason we weren't winning games, at times we were getting dominated and bullied.

"We've shown in the last few games a determination not to let that be the case."

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