INVERNESS boss John Robertson has joked that he expects to be carpeted by the Scottish FA after channelling Neil Lennon’s famous ‘aeroplane’ celebration against Dundee United.
Robertson lost his cool after Aaron Doran’s last gasp winner at Tannadice sent the Caley Jags into the Scottish Cup semi-final, joyously dashing on to the pitch before swiftly regaining his composure.
The 54-year-old can see the similarities with Lenny running on to the field of play at Easter Road during Hibs’ breathless 5-5 draw against Rangers on the final day of last season, which prompted a ban from the blazers at Hampden.
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There are no suggestions that Robertson’s actions are being scrutinised by the powers-that-be.
“I lost it for a moment there, it was a little bit of the Neil Lennon aeroplane!” laughed Robertson. “I’ll be expecting a three-match ban from the SFA for that.”
The dramatic triumph, which came just five days after Inverness had been beaten 1-0 in the Championship by United, teed up a mouth-watering semi-final clash against either Partick Thistle or Hearts, where Robertson remains a club icon.
“First and foremost, we are just delighted to be in the semi-final,” he continued. “We deserve to be where we are, we’ve earned our place.
“We had played Dundee United earlier in the week and United won 1-0 and we had a lot of pressure late on a few chances to grab a draw, so we knew we had to start quickly. I think that’s what gave us the advantage. We got on the front-foot, got on top and didn’t relinquish that grip.
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“The penalty for Nicky Clark to equalised was a real blow at the time, but in the end we got the goal and it’s massive for everyone at the club.”
And Robertson reserved special praise for ‘magnificent’ Doran after the diminutive Irishman ghosted into the box to latch onto Jordan White’s flick-on and nod Caley into the final four.
Doran put his head where it hurt to beat two United defenders and the onrushing goalkeeper, Benjamin Siegrist, to the decisive touch.
“We kept going and kept throwing bodies forward. It was a great touch from Jordan [White] and we encourage Aaron [Doran] to get in there,” added Robertson. “He was magnificent and we always want him to get in between the defenders and he has times that perfectly.
“He was brave, put his head in there and got his reward - and a deserved victory for us.”
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