Gordon Smith's strike proves bittersweet for his family

Published Date: 04 January 2010
By Stuart Bathgate
GORDON Smith left Easter Road last night clutching the Hearts jersey he was wearing when he scored on his SPL debut against his team's biggest rivals. As he headed for home, however, the 18-year-old striker was not sure whether he and his new prize possession would be allowed in – as both his parents are Hibernian supporters.
To complicate matters further, Smith's mother and father were both in the away end to watch the 1-1 draw. "I could only get two tickets, for my mum and dad," he explained. "They were in the Hearts end, but they're both Hibs supporters. A lot of my pals are Hibs fans, and loads of them were in the crowd. My dad is the only one in his family who's a Hibs fan, and when I was younger my aunties always took me to Hearts games and they just changed me."

Smith admitted that, for all his parents would be proud of him, he might not gain admittance when he arrived back at the family house. "Probably not – the doors will be locked."

What young Smith did not mention is that although his father may be a Hibs fan, he is a former Hearts player. Gordon Smith senior spent three years at Tynecastle in the late 1970s, making ten appearances for the first team and scoring two goals before moving on to Berwick Rangers, Falkirk and Meadowbank Thistle among other clubs.

Better known as 'Pogo', Smith senior is watching not one but two sons follow him into professional football, with his older son Kevin a prolific scorer with Raith Rovers last season while on loan to the Kirkcaldy club from Dundee United.

Yet, while their son's feat might have left Mr and Mrs Smith embarrassed to face up to their fellow Hibs supporters, he was justifiably proud to have scored with a spectacular left-foot volley. "I'm a Hearts supporter, I've dreamed about it since I was young," he continued. "To score my first goal against Hibs was even more special. What am I going to do now?

"It was a good debut. I swung my leg, got a good connection on it and it went in. I knew if I got the connection it would be hard for the keeper to save, because I was quite close. Thankfully I did, on my bad foot as well, or supposedly my bad foot."

Presuming he did get into the house, Smith's next worry was what to do with his jersey. "It will be up on the wall, but it will have to be in my room," he said, admitting his mum and dad were unlikely to give it pride of place in the living room.

Csaba Laszlo, who described the goal as "a second Christmas present" for Smith, insisted that although his young strikers have been playing well in recent matches, he still needs added experience up front. "You need to give confidence to the young guys and it is necessary to have experience," the Hearts manager said.

Of the two forwards who trained with Hearts last week, Steven MacLean at present looks more likely to join during this transfer window than Izale McLeod. "This chapter is not closed," Laszlo said about MacLean, who is back in England just now as his daughter is due to return to school there after the holidays.

McLeod is also down south again, and if Hearts are to make an offer even to take him on loan they look likely to ask him to take another medical. "He had a problem with a knee, and we will go into this question next week," the manager added. "We can't go with a risk – we need someone for the next four months But the guy is fantastic. He had a good attitude in training."

Laszlo was not unhappy with the outcome of the match, although he said he had sent out his team to win.

As well as praising Smith, Laszlo was particularly pleased with the contribution of captain Michael Stewart, including the yellow card the midfielder picked up late in the game for a foul on Ian Murray which broke up a Hibs attack. "Michael Stewart showed he is a good captain. His tactical foul in the last minute was very clever."

Taken from the Scotsman