Duffy calls on Hibs to go for Murrayfield

JIM DUFFY today urged Hibs to unite with city rivals Hearts and force the SFA's hand over the venue for the all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup semi-final.

Hearts' director of football, who is also a former manager of the Easter Road club, believes the spectacle involving both Capital clubs should be switched from Hampden Park to Murrayfield, Scotland's largest sporting arena with a 67,800 capacity.

Duffy admitted little surprise that his present employers were paired with his old ones in last night's semi-final draw - for the first time since 1901 - but now there could be a battle of wills with the national association over where the match is played.

Although the SFA traditionally hosts all Scottish Cup semi-finals at the national stadium, which can hold 52,000 supporters, Duffy has called on Hearts and Hibs to join forces and demand that the all-Edinburgh encounter is staged at the most convenient venue for everyone involved.

"I feel if Hibs and Hearts get together and put the suggestion to the SFA then there might be scope for moving it," said Duffy. "It might be out of both teams' hands, but I would love to see the match at Murrayfield.

"From a personal point of view, I think it would show common sense rather than having everybody travel through to Glasgow for the game. It's an SFA tournament so we would have to liaise with them. Myself and Graham Rix would also have to speak to Mr Romanov and get his thoughts.

"But I think it would seem a sensible suggestion to speak with Hibs and at least look at proposing Murrayfield as an option. I'm sure we will be discussing that over the next few days."

With city bragging rights and a place in a national cup final at stake when the semi-final takes place, both clubs can expect virtually skull-crushing tension in the build-up. And Duffy

added: "Both teams are fairly evenly matched with plenty quality on both sides, so it's really down to who handles the occasion. There is going to be a lot of expectation in Edinburgh and come the day it might be down to who has that extra bit of mental toughness to cope with the expectations."

Meanwhile, Hearts' ticket office is currently selling a limited number of tickets for Sunday's SPL match with Livingston at Almondvale Stadium. Prices are £23 and £21 for adults and £10 for concessions.

Taken from the Scotsman