| Report Index--> 2005-06--> All for 20060402 | ||||
| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 02 Apr 2006 Hibernian 0 Hearts 4 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | zunknown ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | None | auth-> | Stuart Dougal |
| ----- | Ivan Sproule | Gary Smith | ||
| 47 | of 055 | Paul Hartley 28 ;Paul Hartley 58 ;Edgaras Jankauskas 80 ;Paul Hartley pen 87 | SC | N |
Edinburgh massacreHearts hammer city rivals to book final place against Division Two champions Hearts 4 Hibs 0 03/04/2006 Paul Hartley insists qualifying for the Champions League remains Hearts' priority - despite the Tynecastle club getting within touching distance of the Tennent's Scottish Cup. Hartley scored the first hat-trick of his career to help Hearts sink rivals Hibernian 4-0 in their semi-final at Hampden, setting up a clash with Gretna next month. The 29-year-old Scotland midfielder scored his fourth, fifth and sixth goals of the season against his former side in a dramatic afternoon in Glasgow which also saw disjointed Hibs have two players, Ivan Sproule and Gary Smith, sent off. The Gorgie men will now face the Bell's Second Division champions in the May 13 final, although Hartley claims holding onto their second spot in the Bank of Scotland Premier League remains the priority over winning the Scottish Cup. The Edinburgh club travel to Celtic Park in midweek to take on the champions-elect who will secure the title with a victory. But Hartley insists the Tynecastle men will be focused again for the crucial SPL match. He said: ‘‘We will go into the final as overwhelming favourites but we've got to give Gretna the respect they deserve because they got to the final with a fantastic performance against Dundee. ‘‘But we've got more important issues before then. ‘‘Getting into the Champions League next season is top of the agenda,’’ he added. ‘‘We don't want to let things slip, we are in a cup final but that's another month away and now we want to finish second. ‘‘We've got a difficult game on Wednesday night but we go into the game with confidence." Despite parting company with two managers this season, Hearts could still finish the campaign with silverware and a place in Europe's top club competition. ‘‘Even with all the issues off the park, we've still got good spirit and the team has stuck together," Hartley said. ‘‘Celtic will be expecting to win the league at home but we can go there and cause them problems." Striker Edgaras Jankauskas grabbed the Gorgie side's other goal against Hibs, with Hartley's hat-trick performance proving the difference. It was the first treble in a Scottish Cup semi since Billy Dodds scored three for Rangers against Ayr United in 2000 and Hartley afterwards joked about selling the match ball on the internet. ‘‘It's still not sunk in yet. To score three goals against your bitter rivals in the semi-final and win 4-0 is just a fantastic feeling. It doesn't come any better than this,’’ said Hartley. ‘‘I've got the match ball and I got all the lads to sign it - and I'm going to sell it on eBay! ‘‘We didn't think it would that comprehensive a win, we know Hibs are a good team but on our day we're as good as anybody,’’ he added. ‘‘We pass and move and have players who can score goals and in the end it could have been more. ‘‘There was a feeling in our camp all week that it was going to be our day. When we rolled up to Hampden and saw thousands of our fans, we couldn't disappoint them," added Hartley. |
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| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 02 Apr 2006 Hibernian 0 Hearts 4 | Team-> | Page-> |
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