K-19, tartan plaid, Elvis and Brooks ... Hampden had it all

By Alan Campbell

THERE were so many bizarre moments at the end of an unexpectedly close encounter at Hampden that a UFO could have landed on the famous old turf and not been noticed. When the maroon and white ticker-tape had settled, Gretna claimed the moral victory and Hearts clutched the Scottish Cup.

This was an alien occasion for those who like their football littered with bile. The sight of Gretna owner Brooks Mileson shaking hands with the Hearts supporters as he led his team on a leisurely lap of honour was proof that a game of football can also be a sporting occasion.

Mind you, it might not have been so friendly had Hearts lost. The nerves of their massive support were stretched back to Gorgie as Gretna threatened to snatch the most unlikely of victories. The send ing off of Hearts’ inspiration and penalty taker Paul Hartley augured badly for the spot kick ordeal which was to follow, but up stepped captain Steven Pressley, as he has so often this season, to set the required example. Never has a man so richly deserved to hold the Scottish Cup aloft.

In the euphoria that followed, the club’s saviour and owner, Vladimir Romanov, spoke of the balance of footballing power switching to Edinburgh. Not yet, Vlad, although so much has been achieved in this tumultuous season for Hearts that only the most blinkered Old Firm fan will not be aware of the threat which lurks in the east. There are many of these myopic supporters, and the Russian-born Lithuanian may teach them a painful lesson.

Surrounded by survivors of the Soviet nuclear submarine, K19, who were his guests at the game, Romanov admitted his nerves had been shredded every bit as much as those of his supporters. By contrast, Mileson confessed to becoming more relaxed as the game wore on. That said everything about the nature of a contest which Hearts were supposed to win easily but equally knew could cause their humiliation.

By the end even the cynics were absorbed by the ever more equal battle between the city slickers and their village opponents. It took a long time for the atmosphere to build up, but when it did it was affirmation of all that Hearts and Gretna have done to reinvigorate Scottish football.

“It was such a struggle,” conceded Romanov, “but victories like this will drive us on for next season. I was very nervous throughout the game but the submariners kept me calm and took my mind off all my worries.

“Edinburgh, the city, and the team deserve this. I am happy for them and our fans. My ambition was to move the balance of football power from Glasgow to Edinburgh and today is a massive step in that direction.

“To win the final shows real evidence of how successful a season this has been for Hearts. I am extremely proud of all my players, especially the captain, Steven Pressley.

“Gretna were a team of very experienced players and had a fantastic goalkeeper in Alan Main. The referee was also good. Brooks Mileson and I embraced strongly at the end of the game. He and Rowan Alexander have taken their team to new levels and it won’t stop there.”

Romanov is expected to hold talks with caretaker manager Valdas Ivanauskas today, and the Lithuanian will be offered a role at the club next season. Ivanauskas was reluctant to discuss it last night but Romanov will have taken his famed ruthlessness to new levels if he fails to offer the deliverer of Champions League football and the Scottish Cup the head coach’s job.

Mileson, if he had his way, would canonise Rowan Alexander, and how close the Gretna manager came to the ultimate vindication of all his labour for the club. “Today was all about two teams who are progressing and really improving Scottish football,” he said . “We started with a little bit of fear, but I was confident we’d make a show of it because of the winning mentality we’ve installed in our players.”

Amazingly , Mileson was about the calmest man in the stadium. The Gretna owner has only one kidney and suffers from ME, prompting Alexander to only half- jokingly remark before the game that he worried about the stress affecting his health.

But after a long embrace with Gretna’s hero, goalkeeper Main, and embarking on a love-in with the Hearts fans, the pony-tailed owner still had enough puff to say: “The game was absolutely unreal. We took a team that finished second in the SPL to penalties. You saw in the way the Hearts supporters responded to us at the end of the game that there were two winners out there.

“ We were always frightened that a team of their quality would give us a real lesson, but we managed to get Paul Hartley under control. In the second we were magnificent and when it moved into extra time I thought we were going to win it.”

He wasn’t the only one.

Taken from the Sunday Herald