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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 13 May 2006 Hearts 1 Gretna 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Scotsman ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | Barry Anderson | auth-> | Douglas McDonald |
| Hartley Paul | [R McGuffie 76] | |||
| 53 | of 429 | Rudi Skacel 39 | SC | N |
A day never to be forgottenBARRY ANDERSON Hearts 1 IF following Hearts this season has been akin to the world's highest and fastest roller-coaster, then the final straight was peppered with more corkscrews and loop-the-loops than a day out with the Florida Coaster Club. It was almost like maintaining tradition at Hampden, for it wouldn't be the genuine Hearts without the players seeking to quicken supporters' pulses to a dangerous degree. For their part, the defiant and gallant Gretna lads were more than willing to provide some unexpected stomach-turning moments for their opponents. Yet after the searing highs, of which none were more climactic than the moment of triumph after Gavin Skelton's decisive penalty-shootout miss, and some skull-crushing lows, like Paul Hartley's dismissal, they got there. The Scottish Cup is back in the Tynecastle trophy cabinet after a day never to be forgotten. A day when it seemed, for all Gretna's efforts, that a force from above had to intervene to spare 35,000 wincing Jambos inside Hampden Park, like a soothing cold cloth to a sweating brow. The roller-coaster has come to the end of its circuit, and a few of its passengers would have been delighted to alight. Yet they will willingly, and rightly, climb aboard again come July. For this is their club, and they wish to live every ascent and descent that goes with following Hearts. There are guaranteed to be plenty more of those with Vladimir Romanov in charge, but clinging to his coat tails hasn't proved to be a misjudgement thus far, exemplified by Champions League qualification and the securing of Hearts' first trophy in eight years. "The party can start now, please," said a jovial Valdas Ivanauskas after the match. "This cup is for the supporters. "They have been great this season and they wanted this cup so this is for them. For me, I am more satisfied with the Champions League place. Winning the cup has made this the biggest day of our season. We have had a very long difficult season. A fantastic season, a great season. The best season for Heart of Midlothian Football Club. You saw Steven Pressley after the game. Hearts are in his blood. "It wasn't easy for our supporters during the game because we needed a second goal. After that it would have been an easy game, but the supporters stayed with the team. We had many chances, but if you miss chances you risk losing the game. "If we had scored a second goal we would have made it much easier for ourselves and that's why we had problems with Gretna. I have respect for Gretna and they will have a good chance of winning the First Division next year. The final was their hour of fame." One hundred and twenty minutes, actually. Most of them excruciating for those from Edinburgh. Then came the wretchedness of penalty kicks. By the end, the nerves of everyone inside the National Stadium were shredded worse than a Cabbage Patch doll after a fight with the Tazmanian Devil. That had been Gretna's intention right from the outset. As the match settled amongst a rather subdued atmosphere, the effectiveness of Paul Hartley was being suppressed by the stringent man-marking attentions of Gretna's Davie Nicholls. Steve Tosh later assumed Nicholls' beat after the latter's substitution, but Hartley was no more prominent. Early chances were passed up by Edgaras Jankauskas and Roman Bednar and Deividas Cesnauskis rattled an upright. Gretna goalkeeper Alan Main also tipped a vicious Bruno Aguiar shot over the crossbar midway through the first half, but by that point the border side had indicated their own intent in pressuring Craig Gordon at every opportunity and making the normally imperturbable Scotland goalkeeper look distinctly uneasy. As the half wore on it became evident that he wasn't the only one experiencing the jitters. Cesnauskis was industrious and creative on both the right and left flanks for Hearts, but Gretna's intricate passing and a well-drilled offside trap were continual frustrations to Hearts. Then came the nerve-settler. Rudi Skacel, in his last game in maroon, adjusted his body to strike an accurate ball across the face of Main and into the bottom corner after a straightforward build-up that involved Jankauskas flicking on a long Robbie Neilson throw from the right. Skacel was cautioned for removing his top during the goal celebrations, but it is debatable whether he gave a monkey's having just scored his first goal since January as a supposedly perfect goodbye present to his adoring legions. At half-time the proceedings ahead seemed perfectly obvious. To the professional pundit, one more Hearts goal would be the deciding factor in the destiny of the Scottish Cup. However, underestimating this Gretna side, who had John O'Neil as a standout in midfield, should be done cautiously no matter which division you reside in. Their ball-on-the-floor approach allied to a group of footballers all with sufficient vision to play into space would prove problematical for any opponent, as several UEFA Cup sides may discover this autumn. Tosh flashed a glaring opportunity wide after Kenny Deuchar and James Grady had combined to play him in, and minutes later came the proverbial sitter in front of an open goal. Substitute David Graham waltzed through the Hearts defence, round Gordon and must have thought for a millisecond: "I'll just roll this home now and take the acclaim". But he didn't reckon for the attentions of Robbie Neilson, who executed possibly the most important tackle of his life to knock the ball for a corner as Graham was in the act of equalising. Sensing a wobble in Hearts, Gretna began to commit bodies to attack, although their penalty award on 75 minutes seemed of the harsh variety when O'Neil went down in the box under an unobtrusive Cesnauskis tackle. Gordon repelled Ryan McGuffie's original effort from the spot, but the midfielder followed up to slot home the rebound. It seemed to take a second or so for the realism that their side had attained parity to sink in amongst the 10,000 or so from Dumfriesshire, however, once it did they wasted no time in raising the decibel level. The Hearts players were stunned, their overwhelming support silenced. This wasn't supposed to happen, but it had and a collective reaction was necessary after the celebrations of the Gretna fans had died off. As if to underline the effect a goal can bring, every black-and-white shirt now wanted the ball, for greatness was now theirs to seize. That was still the case, too, for Hearts, but the game was descending into a frantic battle which edged evermore nervously towards extra-time with the nails of everyone from Edinburgh now bitten down to somewhere around the elbow. The roller-coaster was now at its most lofty peak prior to the most frightening and tantalising drop. Jankauskas sent a free header wide from substitute Saulius Mikoliunas' cross early in extra-time, but the refusal of referee Dougie McDonald to grant Hearts a penalty after Main had manhandled Skacel in a one-on-one tussle seemed to defy belief, and had Hartley and Takis Fyssas incensed. Hartley's frustration at being kept on a tight rein all day spilled over with seconds remaining. He denied his side their first-choice penalty taker by accumulating two bookings, first for dissent and then a senseless off-the-ball kick at Derek Townsley after receiving a sly dig from the Gretna defender in a tackle. His walk back to the Hearts technical area would have been a long one, but it paled in comparison to the tension-filled penalty shootout. Pressley, Neilson and Skacel all scored calmly for Hearts, as did Grady and Birch for Gretna, with owner Brooks Mileson beside himself with excitement in amongst the club's support. Then Townsley's kick was saved by Gordon down low to his left. Michal Pospisil made the penalty score 4-2 to Hearts, but with Fyssas up next Gavin Skelton's effort skimmed the crossbar to send masses of Hearts supporters all around the country into a state of sheer delirium, which they are probably still to recompose themselves from as you read this. No-one could be more satisfied with the eventual outcome than Steven Pressley, the captain whose desire for a trophy was matched every inch by the size of his smile as he lifted the Scottish Cup just before 6pm on Saturday night. Skacel's last message was scrolled across his T-shirt. "Thanks for the memories Jambos," it said, and the Czech would doubtless have been aware that as he walked off the Hampden pitch he was also climbing off the most exhilarating rollercoaster ride of his life. It will never be forgotten. HEARTS Gordon SUBSTITUTES FORMATION Main SUBSTITUTES FORMATION GOALS SHOTS ON TARGET SHOTS OFF TARGET CORNERS OFFSIDE FOULS AGAINST BOOKINGS SENT OFF ATTENDANCE  Taken from the Scotsman |
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