THEIR FAME WAS ON THE CUP

LIKE a line of exhausted pilgrims who had reached the end of a long journey in search of a miracle Gretna's players trudged off the Hampden pitch after 120 minutes of limb-pumping effort and the near heart-stopping drama of a penalty shoot-out.

And in between taking great gulps of air every single one of these players blurted that they were proud and delighted to have travelled so far in one season.

Gretna were actually within one save and a crossbar from forcing Hearts to play sudden death, football's equivalent of Russian roulette, as the shadows grew longer across the National Stadium's lush turf which had been beaten and gouged by two teams of men on a mission.

All the pressure was on one side, Hearts, who were expected to cruise to victory, but again Gretna were full of surprises. Their belief took them to the very threshold of a dream. Their desire to make the most of their chance drove them to the brink of what would have been the most remarkable result in the competition's history.

Even so, and despite their spirit and organisation, they failed.

Of course they did themselves and their Borders town proud and yes, their zest, organisation and the tactical awareness of their manager, which bettered that of Hearts' temporary leader, won even more friends than they had arrived with in Glasgow. But when the adrenalin subsided the truth emerged and they were left with a heavy sense of loss.

The beaming smiles of Rowan Alexander and his players, I suspect, disguised the truth. These people would have been in pain because these players came to Hampden to win.

In fact, they were probably torn apart inside and maybe none more so than the club's owner himself. Brooks Mileson had joined his team on the pitch at the end of what had been an incredible final in which Hearts were unable to impose their superior skills and had, in the end, to rely on luck, as well as Scotland's top keeper Craig Gordon, who flitted between the ridiculous and sublime all afternoon.

The football wasn't brilliant, but the effort and the sheer insolence of Gretna who stubbornly refused to recognise the game's established order took the breath away.

They went a goal behind in the first half when Rudi Skacel scored for the first time in just more than three months and while most other sides would have retreated into their own penalty area fearing a slaughter Alexander's army shrugged off the setback and continued to get in the faces of their opponents.

Ryan McGuffie equalised in the final quarter of the match when he knocked in the rebound after Gordon had parried his penalty and it was then the entire packed stadium sensed extra time and maybe even penalties would be required. Many of them also started to believe in the fairytale.

During the short break between the end of regulation time and the beginning of overtime the kilted Alexander managed to get into the heads of his players one last time, but then he was a passionate, fist-clenched contrast to Valdas Ivanauskas, who just looked lost somewhere in translation. Alexander came strutting off the pitch saying: "We've got them on the rack. We can win this".

He was talking to nobody in particular - actually, he said it to the BBC's Chick Young, but it's the same thing - yet I must admit he was convincing and then when he mumbled something like "It's our day ... it's our day," just before the shoot-out I'd become a believer.

Of course, even then you always suspected Gordon might save at least one of the penalties fired at him, but there was something about the manner in which the afternoon had unfolded. And there was something special in the way Gretna had kept running when they really should have been in oxygen tents.

Gordon, of course, did belly flop on to a penalty, a poorly struck one from big Derek Townsley, and when Gavin Skelton skelped his off the bar that was it. Steven Pressley, who as always, stepped up first to show the way, Robbie Neilson, Skacel and Michal Pospisil had hit terrific penalties and Hearts did get home with the Cup, but they knew they had been fortunate.

They accepted they hadn't been close to their best, but they, too, showed great resilience to get the job done, although they did so in spite of their interim manager, who made all of his changes in normal time when it was fairly clear extra time would be required.

That wouldn't have been so bad but Ivanauskas didn't seem to realise a few of his players, like Edgaras Jankauskas, were out on their feet. He ignored them and took off others instead.

On the other hand, Alexander was willing to react to what was happening in the match and his thinking appeared to be much more structured. His changes had a significant effect on the game, especially when he sent on David Graham for Davie Nicholls early in the second half. Graham had a significant influence on the match and somewhere in the crowd Mileson's eyes widened as the impossible began to take glorious shape in front of him.

He had gone to Hampden hoping his club could avoid embarrassment and although he has a pretty wild imagination even he could never have suspected the Final would come down to such a stomach-churning conclusion.

And when it did he, like Alexander, would have been convinced this was to be Gretna's day when really it was just fate having a laugh at their expense.

They were allowed to get so far and so close to the Cup only to be denied in the most excruciating manner and that's why Mileson, Alexander and his players would have been hurting. They were so close, near enough to see the fear and horror in the eyes of Hearts' players, but in the end they just couldn't grasp the moment.

When Skelton's shot ricocheted off the bar despair flooded into every Gretna body while Hearts' owner Vladimir Romanov and his old Russian submariner mates, who were his guests at the Final, heaved sighs of relief. Serving on the K19s, the Widow makers, should have been bad enough without having to go through this kind of hell as well, although perhaps they should have known it would be traumatic.

As the teams lined up before the kick off Hampden's pyrotechnics exploded into life and it wouldn't have been surprising had one or two of the old Russians shouted" Dive! Dive!"

You could say that's the kind of command Skacel might obey yet he showed great sportsmanship five minutes from the end of extra time by staying on his feet after Gretna keeper Alan Main had made contact inside his own box. Had Skacel gone down referee Dougie McDonald would probably have given a penalty but the Hearts player remained up right only to be denied his chance by a good Townsley tackle.

That incident strengthened the belief Gretna's name was already on the Cup but they came up only afraction short and that's why a club which had no real right to believe they could win the trophy will have to cope with a deep sense of loss.

Still, they lived their dream and it almost came true and now they'l l have to deal with the weight of expectation.

They have forced their way into the hearts and minds of supporter se very where. They have become known and we have all become aware of their ambitions and plans. Gretna can continue to live their dream but now they'll have to deal with reality, too. Now they'll have to deliver and they'll have to hope Mileson maintains his own enthusiasm and desire.

As he drove away from Hampden a round 6.45pm on Saturday he did look spent. It's a tough, sneaky business this. Somehow it always seems to take more than its disciples want to give.

Taken from the Daily Record