Football: New kings of Hearts turn up trumps

GLENN GIBBONS AT CELTIC PARK

Heart of Midlothian 2

Cameron 2(pen), Adam 52Rangers 1

McCoist 81

Att 48,946

So Walter Smith left Rangers as he had found them - empty-handed. When the outgoing manager joined as Graeme Souness's assistant in 1986, it was at the end of the last season in which the Ibrox side failed to win a trophy.

Their barrenness this season has been caused partly by their own declining standards, but that should not be allowed to detract from the achievement of Jim Jefferies, the Hearts manager. Operating on a small fraction of the Old Firm's resources, he has brought his club their first Scottish Cup since 1956 and their first trophy of any description in 36 years.

They had to overcome their bogeymen to do it, Rangers having won three and drawn the other of their four League meetings over the past few months. Also, Rangers had beaten Jefferies's team in the Scottish Cup final and League Cup final of 1996 and were regarded as an insurmountable obstacle for Hearts.

The underdogs also had to survive one or two mild scares after substitute McCoist had scored to reduce their lead to one goal with eight minutes remaining, but there was an overall compactness about their performance that made them deserved winners. Before McCoist scored with a low drive from Gattuso's through pass, Hearts had taken the lead with a penalty in the first minute and doubled their advantage early in the second half though Adam.

Rangers supporters, to their credit, hung around to acclaim a side who have given them a decade of domestic glory; but it was the travelling people from Edinburgh who were the noisier and more colourful. The victory was breathtaking justification of Jefferies's imperishable optimism. He always believes that everything he and his players do will come out right, a policy that looked as sound as life assurance with that first goal.

Willie Young is renowned as a decisive referee, but even his firmness of purpose in awarding the penalty kick with only 38 seconds played was extraordinary. There was no doubting the decision, but that did not reduce the unusual nature of a penalty given so early on such an occasion.

Fulton, who would develop into one of the most impressive players on the field, did the damage when he carried the ball down the left. Cutting in towards the area, he appeared first to be hampered by Porrini before having his legs taken by Ferguson. Cameron gave Hearts their advantage with a composed but powerful finish high to Goram's left.

If Hearts were much less in evidence as an attacking force through the rest of the first half, it was clearly pre-planned. Jefferies adopted a 4-5-1 formation, with only Adam foraging in forward areas. The consequence was a reliance on winning the ball in midfield or defence and springing forward. This was accomplished rarely before the interval. But they did look very comfortable for most of the time in their containment of the favourites.

This was partly down to the misfortune that had deprived Rangers of their recognised midfield. Only a few weeks ago, Gascoigne, Therm and Albertz would have been unopposed picks. The Englishman returned to Middlesbrough, Thern was unavailable because of injury and Albertz was suspended.

This left a midfield short of creativity. McCall is still a trier, but age and too many years of battling have diminished him. Ferguson plays too close to his own defence to inflict much damage and Gattuso is young and energetic but has shortcomings.

When, early in the game, Hearts were seen to play with only one striker, Smith disbanded his back three and Bjorklund, the quickest of them, was deployed to cover the pace of McCann, leaving only Amoruso and Gough in central defence.

It was a mild risk by Hearts to invite Rangers to them, especially as Laudrup at times looked ready to rumble. The Dane, an indecisive, even tormented, figure for most of the season, seemed to have consciously determined to make the kind of contribution to his last match that would remind Ibrox fans of what they will miss when he joins Chelsea.

For all of Laudrup's virtuosity, he was heavily policed and, with only Durie for company, frequently encountered difficulty in making the telling pass or centre from the wings. Yet it was Laudrup who came closest to equalising before the break after hard work by Porrini on the right. The Italian chased to catch the ball near the corner flag, carried it along the byline and crossed low to the Dane.

Laudrup took a touch past an opponent and had to stretch to push the ball past Rousset from six yards; it trickled across the box before bouncing off the goalkeeper's right-hand post. Apart from that, Rangers were restricted in that first half to long-range effort by Amoruso. With one of them, a short free kick from McCall at least 35 yards from goal, the defender forced Rousset to dive right and push his fierce drive wide.

Amoruso seemed to have a more convertible opportunity soon after when Rangers were given a free kick on the edge of the penalty area. But following an attempt at deception between himself and McCall, the Italian sent his low shot disappointingly wide.

Rangers were as spirited as their supporters would have expected during those opening minutes of the second half when they hoped to catch Hearts cold. But it was they who experienced the dread chill of losing a Cup final when Adam made it 2-0 just eight minutes in.

The goal was a dual disaster for Amoruso and Goram, who took turns to foul up their attempts at prevention. Rousset took a free kick 40 yards from his own goal, simply lofting the ball forward. Amoruso seemed to go to sleep and Adam brushed past him to make for the right side of the penalty area. The Frenchman seemed to be at an impossible angle, but his drive was powerful. Still, Goram, having positioned himself properly, allowed the ball to squeeze under his body and bobble over the line.

That goal was as clear a signal as the announcement of Smith's resignation that a golden era at Ibrox had ended. Rangers ended the game attacking but Hearts held on to their first pot since their League Cup win in 1962.

Heart of Midlothian: Rousset; McPherson, Naysmith, Weir, Salvatori, Ritchie, McCann, Fulton, Adam (Hamilton 78), Cameron, Flogel.

Rangers: Goram; Porrini, Stensaas (McCoist 45), Gough, Amoruso, Bjorklund, Gattuso, Ferguson, Durie, McCall (Durrant 68), Laudrup.

Referee: W Young (Clarkston).

Taken from the Guardian/Observer