Hearts help to pay for fans' Killie Cup travel

HEARTS are set to dig deep to help subsidise supporters’ buses for next week’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup fourth-round replay against Kilmarnock.

The teams will battle it out at Rugby Park a week tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals after Saturday’s enthralling 2-2 draw in the Capital.

The extra fixture is the latest in a congested period of games for the club, with fans having had to dig deep for a third-round replay against Partick Thistle, a rearranged SPL meeting with Livingston at Almondvale and a CIS Cup semi-final against Motherwell over the past three weeks.

With last night’s quarter-final draw at Hampden pairing the winners of the Ayrshire rematch at home to relegation haunted Livingston, the incentive is huge.

A large travelling support is expected to roar on John Robertson’s side and new owner Vladimir Romanov has been quick to pledge £150 towards the price of each official supporters’ bus - around 50 per cent of the average bill for a bus to Kilmarnock.

"This is an absolutely excellent gesture from the club and should encourage a lot more fans to go to the game," said John Borthwick, secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters’ Clubs.

"For a variety of reasons there hasn’t been a lot of positive PR coming out of the club in recent months but this is a step in the right direction and should be applauded. It is great that the club is recognising the value of the supporters."

The club will send a cheque for £150 to supporters’ clubs on receipt of official invoices for their buses to Kilmarnock.

"We recognise the importance of the match with a quarter-final place at stake," said spokesperson Clare Cowan.

"The supporters have had to spend a lot of money to watch Hearts in recent weeks and hopefully this gesture will help as many as possible to make the trip to

Rugby Park. John Robertson and the players will appreciate as much backing as they can get in the replay and the fans can play a significant part in helping the team through what will be a tough replay."

Further details are available from Clare at Tynecastle (0131 200 7200).

Robertson has welcomed the possibility of a home tie against the SPL bottom dogs - if the Jambos can overcome Jim Jefferies’ outfit.

"The incentive is there for both sides," he said. "All you can ask for is a home tie and both ourselves and Kilmarnock will be looking upon this as a great opportunity," he said.

Defender Jamie McAllister will be suspended for the clash after picking up his second booking of the competition at Tynecastle on Saturday. The former Livingston star was also booked against Partick Thistle in the third-round tie at Firhill.

Ticket prices for the replay are £16 (concessions £10) and £5 for Under-12s. There are no advance purchases and all tickets will be issued at cash turnstiles.

Sky has announced it will transmit the game live, landing each club an £82,500 windfall.

• HIBS boss Tony Mowbray today welcomed the quarter-final draw which has handed his team a home tie against St Mirren.

"It’s a good draw for us, particularly as it’s at home," he said.

Taken from the Scotsman