Draw delivers capital face-off

GRAHAM SPIERS and MARTIN GREIG February 28 2006

One dream died and another was kept alive when the draw for the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-finals was made at Hampden Park last night.

The enticing prospect of an all-Edinburgh final between Hibs and Hearts was scuppered when the two clubs were drawn to face each other in the last four, to be played either on Saturday, April 1 or the following day.

Meanwhile, the implausible prospect of Gretna, after just four years in senior football, playing in a Scottish Cup final, and possibly even qualifying for Europe, remained a distinct possibility when they were drawn against the winners of the Dundee-Hamilton replay, which will be staged a week on Thursday.

The Scottish Football Association will now face pressure from different groups over the venues for the two ties. There is a compelling case for the Hibs-Hearts semi to go ahead at Murrayfield, where the 67,000 capacity is significantly greater than at Hampden.

Andy Mitchell, the SFA's head of communications, stated that there was no barrier to an alternative venue being used. He said: "At the moment we are fully expecting both matches to be played at Hampden, but there is no contractual obligation on the part of the SFA for the matches to be played there."

A Hearts spokesman acknowledged the groundswell of support for the tie to be played at Murrayfield. He said: "The club are aware of some feelings among Hearts fans that they would prefer Murrayfield as an option. We'll discuss every viable option relating to the semi-final. We will also speak to Hibs, but that will relate to all aspects of the tie."

Nevertheless, The Herald understands that the Tynecastle club will not be actively pushing for a change of venue. It is also believed that Hibs are less welcoming of the idea than their city rivals.

Meanwhile, Graham Rix, the Hearts head coach, welcomed the prospect of the two sides meeting in the last four. "It'sthe biggie," he said. "There is absolutely no doubt that the fans will be excited from now right up until the game for a whole variety of reasons. We have two very goods teams in Hearts and Hibs and if both teams play to their potential, it will be a tremendous advert for Scottish football and the city of Edinburgh. Everyone has a chance to share in the excitement and there will be no doubt that the match will be a guaranteed sell out.

"First and foremost, however, we have to look after ourselves and ensure that our preparation for the game is spot on and then we'll see what happens on the day itself. It'll be a great day out for the fans with a trip to Hampden and we're 90 minutes away from a cup final."

Rowan Alexander's Gretna side were drawn to face either Dundee or Hamilton Accies in the other semi-final, a fate which pushed Brooks Mileson, Gretna's multi-millionaire owner, into a further bout of apoplexy last night. "It is an amazing draw for us and yet another staging-post in the fairytale," said Mileson.

A more suitable venue for a Gretna semi against either Dundee or Hamilton might be Fir Park or Tynecastle, notwithstanding Mileson's threat to snap up some 20,000 tickets for Hampden and dole them out to local communities and schoolchildren in the borders.

"To be honest, I don't mind where our match is played," said Mileson. "We'll certainly be able to sell tickets for the game. We could have sold our allocation three times over for our quarter-final on Saturday against St Mirren, so that's not an issue.

"It's just an amazing draw. With the two Premierleague clubs having been drawn together, we know this gives us a chance. Now we will face either Hamilton or Dundee but we're not afraid of any First Division club. If we keep playing the way we are, we don't see why we can't go all the way.

Alan Kernaghan, the Dundee manager, welcomed the chance to play Gretna at Hampden. "I am not being disrespectful to Gretna, when I say that drawing them offers us the best chance of getting through to the final," he said.

Billy Reid, the Hamilton manager, said: "It's amazing to think that neither ourselves, Gretna or Dundee have played Premierleague opposition and we have the chance to get to the final. It's even money for who gets to the final now."

Taken from the Herald