What Hearts boss Robbie Neilson had to say about super-sub Craig Wighton
The 23-year-old was introduced just after the hour-mark following Ayr going ahead 2-1 and he scored twice and laid on an assist for Liam Boyce as the Jambos went on to record a vital 5-3 win in the Championship.
Wighton’s contribution was made even more impressive considering he missed one of the crucial penalties in the shoot-out last weekend at Hampden as Hearts lost the Scottish Cup final to Celtic in gut-wrenching circumstances.
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Hide Ad“I thought he was excellent,” Neilson said of Wighton’s contribution. “He linked the play, first and foremost, then he got a couple of good goals so I’m pleased for him because he’s a great kid and he had that disappointment last week, which we all had as a group and it was about getting back from that, which we managed to do.”
Neilson was quick to also point out the physical and mental toll his players have had to go through over the past week, after his squad was stretched further by an unnamed player testing positive for Covid-19.
“It was always going to be difficult because we had the physical output of last week, the full 120 minutes and then penalties and it takes it out of you,” added Neilson. “We also had the mental and emotional side and it takes you a bit to get over that, it takes you three or four days and then you have to refocus on the league.”