Neil Lennon 'unsure' on key decision in Hearts Premier Sports Cup win over Dunfermline
The former Hibs boss was speaking after Hearts kicked off their 2025/26 season with a Premier Sports Cup win against his Dunfermline Athletic side.
Derek McInnes kicked off his Hearts managerial reign with a comfortable win over Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic in a Premier Sports Cup tie at Tynecastle.
Hearts took just three minutes to grab the first goal of McInnes’ tenure as Scotland youngster James Wilson put his side in front inside the opening minutes of the game. To their credit, the visitors remained firmly in the game and grabbed an equaliser seven minutes before half-time when Josh Cooper beat Zander Clark. Parity remained in place until the final quarter of an hour when Hearts raced out of sight thanks to a pair of penalties from Lawrence Shankland and an injury-time effort from substitute Stephen Kingsley.
Just days after committing his future to the club, Shankland restored Hearts lead with just under 15 minutes remaining when he converted from the spot after Alan Forrest had been upended by visitors goalkeeper Deniz Mehmet. Shankland accepted a second opportunity to net from 12 yards just three minutes later after Elton Kabangu had been brought down by Kyle Benedictus and substitute Kingsley rounded off a positive day for Hearts with a neat finish just moments before the full-time whistle.
Despite the defeat, former Hibs and Celtic manager Lennon was ‘pleased overall’ with his side’s performance - but admitted he was unsure about the award of Shankland’s first penalty of the day.
Annoyed
When asked if tiredness had played a part in the defeat, Lennon told the club website: “I think that’s an easy excuse to make. So, just deal with it. Both the penalties… I’m not sure the first one is a penalty, I thought he’d pulled his hand away, but the ref has a decision to make, obviously. The second one’s a clear penalty, which really annoyed me – really annoyed me. But, yeah, it shouldn’t have happened. We had good possession, good control. We’d kept the crowd quiet for long periods. We were getting ours subs on to add a bit of spark and a bit of brightness. It’s just individual mistakes cost us.
“But I’m really pleased overall. I don’t like losing, obviously, and I don’t like losing heavily. It’s two penalties and a set play. The fourth goal is academic. Again, we’re blooding players who are only in the door a day, so you’re going to get that at this stage of the season, especially against quality opposition that we faced today. But, yeah, for long periods of the game, I was really pleased.”
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