Thank God That's Over!

A truly hellish 90 minutes where the only thing that mattered was the result....and thankfully the Jambos got the one they wanted, but boy was it a struggle!

These occasions are rarely pretty. The game reminded me of many cup semi-finals. You know the drill, with so much at stake no-one wants to make a mistake, so what you end up with is a game totally devoid of attractive football and full of panicky moves, which in turn leads to even more nervousness in the stands than there was at the start. This then transcends itself back and forth to the point where you literally are 'playing' in the match.....not great for those with high blood pressure or migraine headache sufferers that's for sure!

Hearts badly needed an early goal to settle them down in this match but somewhat predictably, it never arrived. They should have got it after only a few minutes when Roman Bednar broke free down the right, but his cutback was probably too far behind Cesnauskas, who couldn't get his foot round the ball enough to put it on target.

The first half was very scrappy with the ball in the air most of the time. Aberdeen battled doggedly for every ball with former Jambo Scott Severin absolutely outstanding and winger Jamie Smith as lively as ever.

The Dons were unlucky with an offside decision after 20 minutes when Lovell was played clean through on Gordon. The flag went up straight away but I was dead in line with it and the decision looked wrong. Breaks like that can be crucial, as Hearts have found out to their cost many times this season. Was this a good omen?

For all the heavy tackles and long balls being played, Hearts were the side that were keeping the ball better and fired over several dangerous crosses with no takers. One deep cross by Robbie Neilson was flapped at by Dons 'keeper Langfield and Skacel, bombing in at the far post, volleyed inches wide from an extremely tight angle. Most of us thought it was in.....'it'll come' someone behind assured us! Hmm...

Hearts came flying out of the traps in the second half and after an amazing goalmouth scramble, Aberdeen somehow scooped it out to safety. However just a couple of minutes later from Skacel's corner, Bednar flicked the ball towards goal only for Dons defender Russell Anderson to push it over the bar with his hand...PENALTY!!

The next few minutes seemed like a few hours as all sorts of arguments took place around referee Dougal. Quite why Anderson was not red-carded is a mystery - even if the ball was not going in, there were two Hearts players directly behind Anderson who were ready to nod it into the empty net had he not handled, so it was a clear goalscoring opportunity he'd stopped.

Still, at least the penalty had been awarded, so we should be thankful really. Taker Paul Hartley was forced to wait for ages as treatment was allowed for an injured Aberdeen defender, so it's to his immense credit that he still had the composure and confidence to majestically despatch the spot-kick right into the corner of the net with power beyond the diving Langfield. Get in there!

The remaining 40 minutes or so of the match are a tension-filled blur! Every time Aberdeen came close to crossing the half-way line you could almost hear the stadium collectively groaning! Thankfully on almost every occasion that happened, the Hearts rear-guard held firm and goalkeeper Craig Gordon was a virtual spectator in the second half.

From Jankauskas' sublime cross from the right, Cesnauskas probably should have settled it beyond doubt, but his close-range diving header was well saved by Langfield.

With time ticking on and the game still in the balance, former Hearts player Scott Severin was red-carded for an over-the-ball tackle on Bruno Aguiar. I have to be honest and say from my position in the stand it looked a little innocuous, but the fans right next to the tackle were going nuts and Dougal had no hesitation, so I perhaps didn't have the best view of what happened. Aguiar did not do himself any favours though with his over-the-top reaction - this sort of thing infuriates me no matter who a player plays for and he needs to cut this rolling around sort of thing right out sharpish.

Once Severin was gone I breathed a little easier. He had been excellent in a defensive role for Aberdeen and was a big loss for them. However in the closing stages Hearts did not make life easy for themselves as they needlessly conceded possession cheaply in the last ten minutes.

When Dougal's final whistle went the place went mental. Hard to believe that this was all because we finished second, but it's the qualification for the Champions League that is the achievement here. Yes we're disappointed not to have pushed Celtic harder for the league, but if we look at where we've been in recent seasons and look where we are now, well it's not too bad is it?

I never thought I'd ever hear that Champions League tune playing over the tannoy at Tynecastle. If I never do again it won't bother me, I'll always remember this. It really was one hell of a night and not one that any Jambo who was there will forget in a hurry. Fantastic!

Star Player
On a night of extreme tension the Hearts defence was solid all night and no-one more than captain Steven Pressley contributed to this. An absolute rock.
Player Ratings
Gordon 6
Very little to do, but handling and kicking were fine when called upon.
Neilson 7
Absolutely solid performance and distribution down the right was good.
Fyssas 4
Really struggled tonight against a pacey, eager side. To be fair though, didn't have many options when in possession of the ball.
Pressley 9
Almost flawless performance. Commanding in the air and the tackle and inspired the rest of the team.
Tall 8
Another top, dominating performance from Tall. Immense credit goes to him for the way he's performed after being thrown in so late in the season.
Aguiar 5
I felt he struggled a bit against stronger, more combative players. One or two good challenges and passes here and there, but too lightweight in a game like this.
Hartley 7
A fairly quiet game by his standards, but kept his bottle when we needed a hero. What a season he's had.
Skacel 4
After Sunday's return to form, Rudi seemed to retreat back into his shell. Couple of half-decent goal attempts in first half, but generally anonymous.
Cesnauskas 5
Although the pass wasn't the best from Bednar, he still probably should have done better with early chance. Struggled a bit to keep the ball at times but he never hides and kept coming back to try again.
Bednar 6
Held the ball up quite well and made a nuisance of himself, but he just never got the breaks tonight.
Jankauskas 7
A bit slow to release the ball at times, but a real class act up front. Almost provided a outlet and helped take the sting out of the game at times.
Mikoliunas 2
On for Skacel but didn't do a lot.
Mikoliunas 2
On for Skacel but didn't do a lot.
Pospisil 2
Very late sub.
Brellier 1
Even later sub! Not sure he touched the ball, but got a standing ovation when he came on. It's ludicrous that he's not starting games at the moment.