Fans ditch boycott plans and rally round in big numbers

Stuart Bathgate

MAKING the short trek from Tynecastle to Murrayfield is not quite tantamount to becoming a full-time nomad, but last night nonetheless represented a foretaste of homelessness for the Hearts support. If the most atmospheric ground in the country is sold, this will be it for the foreseeable future, and for humdrum league matches as well as those rare European outings. The debate about Murrayfield began the day after Hearts were knocked out of the UEFA Cup last season, when the board released their plan to sell up. Opinions were polarised long ago, and a reconciliation between the supporters and the board is farther away than ever.

Some fans had talked of boycotting the Braga match as a way of showing their disgust at the impending loss of Tynecastle, but in the end more positive feelings prevailed, and the team got its biggest attendance of the season so far. The East Stand was close to capacity, and the lower tier of the South was also well populated as the ground housed 18,769 fans - a few hundred more than Tynecastle’s capacity of 18,000, and approximately 1,200 more than attended the home match against Bordeaux in the same competition last year.

Before kick-off in the West Stand, which is separated from the pitch by - no, don’t ask why - an eight-lane running track, quite a few people expressed the fear that they would be unable to see the action. You knew where they were coming from: Craig Gordon in the Hearts goal looked about a foot shorter than he does up the road in Gorgie.

That was just one surreal aspect of the evening. Even for those of us who know the ground well, this was all an uncomfortably incongruous experience.

It might have been different, for more could have been done to acquaint the fans with their new surroundings, to make them feel more at ease. There was barely a mention of Murrayfield in the programme, for example, and, contrary to the grandiose vision presented by Chris Robinson at the club’s agm back in January, the stadium was not decked out in Hearts regalia. Excepting the merchandising stalls on the road outside, and the small matter of the pitch markings within, until the fans began to drift in there was no sign that the national rugby stadium was being used for a different sport.

Expense was the reason given for the failure to dress the stadium in the manner Robinson had forecast, and it should be noted that some of the income from the game was put to a better use - going to the charity set up for the children of Beslan. Choosing between making fancy banners and helping the traumatised victims of terror is an easy decision to make.

It was, nonetheless, another instance of Robinson’s sales pitch not being borne out in reality; another example of the way in which the supporters have been given little encouragement to make the difficult transition from one ground to the other. True, there has been the emotional blackmail of implying true fans would follow their team anywhere, but that is not the same as offering real encouragement.

Fortunately, last night the fans needed no encouragement to get behind the team, even though they were far quieter than usual in the build-up to the game. Just before kick-off the Hearts song was played, according to which the team play away up in Gorgie at Tynecastle Park. Moments later a shot from Jamie McAllister almost gave Hearts an early lead, and the home support found their voice. The fans’ version of My Way and the Pieman chant were given their customary airings, and that combination - support for the team and disapproval of the chief executive - was just about the most familiar aspect of the entire evening.

Having been unsure of what they would find, and perhaps in some cases wary of going anywhere near a rugby ground, a lot of supporters had low expectations of last night. Thanks partly to the fans’ own efforts, and partly to those of the team, those expectations were largely confounded. The issue of Murrayfield is still a big problem for Hearts, not least because the board have been unable to show that it makes economic sense for the long-term health of the club. Last night at least, though, the fans were able to rise above such concerns, and offer their unconditional support to the team.

Taken from the Scotsman