Gretna take the credit but Hearts take the prize

GRETNA emerged with credit as consolation for the most courageous of cup final defeats. The roulette of a tense Tennent's Scottish Cup shoot-out was cruel reward for a manager who proved his ability to fulfil the club's aspirations to ascend to the Bank of Scotland Premierleague.

Rowan Alexander had a final to remember. Bedecked in the most handsome of Highland dress, he proved a cut above in the tactical stakes yet was denied a once-in-a-lifetime triumph by the fickle finger of fate.

The first manager to wear tartan at the season's showpiece since Alex Totten in 1997, he dressed to impress and succeeded in fashioning a team as versatile as it was valiant.

As the ageing core prepare to make way for vibrant youth to fulfil Brooks Mileson's dream, Alexander used Saturday's spectacle to dismiss the notion that Gretna's success hitherto has been purely down to the chequebook of the club's eccentric owner.

Reeling from the concession of an eyesore opener moments before the half-time respite, Gretna emerged defiantly and dynamically. The 3-5-2 shape designed to suppress Hearts' creative instincts rendered Paul Hartley a frustrated craftsman consigned to the fringes of the final until his patience snapped deep into extra time.

Alexander had initiated the tactical masterstroke of introducing David Graham, a waspish attacker. By the time Valdas Ivanauskas counteracted the bold move to 3-4-3, replacing the proactive Bruno Aguiar for the dogmatic Julien Brellier, Hearts were against the ropes and gasping.

If only they could have shown greater precision with their penalties, Gretna would have completed the most remarkable, romantic story in Scottish football history.

How close the wedding village came to living the most unbelievable dream. Having reverted to the original formation at the start of extra time, Gretna had readied themselves for the 12-yard lottery. Derek Townsley, a player with unfinished business at the top level, did not deserve the ignominy of the initial miss as the former Hibernian and Motherwell curiosity was a mammoth presence for his side.

This was also a tale of two goalkeepers. Craig Gordon, Scotland's No.1 potentially for another 15 years, was the ultimate hero, having hugged Townsley's twitchy kick and guiding Gavin Skelton's fateful penalty on to the crossbar. Yet, prior to the shootout, Gordon was a unrecognisable from his normally authoritative self; struggling throughout with his kicking and rarely looking comfortable amid the sporadic bombardments from Gretna.

Alan Main, by comparison, was in vintage form. A long-standing member of Scotland squads in his heyday, he looked to have lost none of his agility approaching 40. He caught like a wide receiver and led like a quarterback. As the teams lined up for the lottery, the gambling man would have put his money on Main. That he never came close to saving a spot-kick was evidence of luck deserting a town where horseshoes are a ubiquitous presence.

The consensus at the end of an emotional afternoon was a preference to have lost late in extra time, when Rudi Skacel was denied a seemingly legitimate penalty claim – turned down, ironically enough, as the Czech tried to stay on his feet. It would have spared the eventual sinners.

For Main, Townsley, John O'Neil, Davie Nicholls, and James Grady, all of whom are well in their 30s, this may prove the last hurrah before passing the baton and the burden of perpetual expectation to younger colleagues. It also proved an occasion to highlight Kenny Deuchar's limitations.

A free-scoring forward in the second and third divisions, the good doctor dissolved into anonymity against Steven Pressley and the increasingly impressive Ibrahim Tall.

That Hearts were so reliant on defensive diligence told the story of a compelling second-half comeback. With Skacel's first-half goal an obviously inadequate cushion, Roman Bednar's inexplicable miss after 67 minutes proved a major turning point. The striker

raced inside defender Mark Birch and collected Edgaras Jankauskas' chipped pass. With Main committed, a simple lob would have put the game beyond Gretna's reach, had Bednar not lost his composure and overhit his shot. It was to be his last involvement, replaced with a look of guilt and a feeling of dread.

Within a minute of his miss, Graham stared Gordon in the eyes, rounded the goalkeeper and seemed to ponder his celebration as Robbie Neilson slid in with a customarily exceptional and certainly goal-saving challenge.

Parity, by now, seemed inevitable and arrived when Deividas Cesnauskis clipped O'Neil inside the box. Ryan McGuffie's anxiety overcame him but he atoned for a pitiful penalty from the rebound.

The drama was unrelenting throughout extra time. Skacel, who pounced on a botched Chris Innes headed clearance and revealed the ominous T-shirt slogan "I will never forget you", looked destined to sign off a hero. Racing clear, he touched the ball past Main and attempted to meet it at the other end. His plan was thwarted by the goalkeeper but having earned a reputation for diving, the Czech – to the surprise of everyone – stayed on his feet and was denied by Townsley's timely intervention.

Dougie McDonald, the referee, received dog's abuse but it can be argued that Main was not fully aground and, rather than seek to foul the player, was helpless to prevent Skacel walking over him in an attempt to collect the ball and score.

Amid the mayhem, Hartley was booked and had his misery compounded seconds before shoot-out when he retaliated to a fly kick from Townsley with a petulant swipe in full view of the referee.

Pressley, Neilson, Skacel and Michal Pospisil were clinical from the spot to provide a watershed moment in the rewriting of Hearts' history. This is not the last we will hear of Gretna, either.

Hearts 1 - 1 Gretna Hearts win 4-2 on penalties Scorers:

Hearts – Skacel (39) Gretna – McGuffie (76)

Taken from the Herald