Hearts ace Darren Barr admits family is quids in after backing him to open scoring at Hampden

May 20 2012 By Gordon Parks

DARREN BARR helped the Jambos hit the jackpot with an opening goal that allowed his family to clean up at the bookies.

The Hearts defender poked home in 14 minutes to send his side towards a 5-1 destruction of Hibs and leave his dad and brother John in the money.

The pair had backed the former Falkirk player to score first at odds of 50-1 and Barr admits he was struggling to wipe the smile off his own coupon after bagging his first ever goal for the Tynecastle side.

He said: “It’s happy days for my dad and brother.

“They’ll be delighted but it’s going to take a while for what’s happened to sink in.

“They put their money on me and it’s just another thing to celebrate. Winning the Scottish Cup and me scoring are not things that happen every day.

“It was incredible and I just can’t get the smile off of my face.

“When Hibs scored their goal towards the end of the first half then it was a bit touch and go.

“But when we managed to score our third then it was a feel-good factor and we knew we would win.

“To achieve that kind of a scoreline is just an incredible feat and beyond our wildest dreams.

“I’ve waited a long time to hit the target and you could see it hasn’t happened often, judging by the way I reacted when the ball hit the back of the net.

“When I scored my goal I didn’t know how to celebrate so I knew I just had to do something.”

Barr has managed to complete a stunning transformation to his Tynecastle career.

He has worked hard to get himself back in favour under boss Paulo Sergio after months of being frozen out of the side.

But an impressive display at Hampden continued an upward curve for the 27-year-old who has had a traumatic time since making the switch to Edinburgh from the Bairns.

Barr also believes the Scottish Cup success is a fitting way for both Ian Black and Rudi Skacel to bring the curtain down on their time in Gorgie as they look likely to exit this summer.

He said: “I’m just happy we got the result and delighted for Rudi as he was immense and is a special player for us. The same goes for Ian as both of them have been great servants for the club.

“I can’t speak on their behalf as I don’t know what their plans are for the summer.

“But that can wait as now is all about having a winners medal wrapped around our necks.

“It’s been a great turnaround for me at Hearts and finishing the season this way is a dream.

“I’ve been to a Scottish Cup Final with Falkirk and we lost so this win makes up for that. It is an amazing feeling.

“I’m not going to think about what the future holds for me as I just want to enjoy the day.”

It’s been a campaign of political unrest at Hearts with wages failing to arrive on time and a constant stream of controversy over owner Vladimir Romanov’s plans for the club.

But Barr insists the furore over the salary problems and the inner turmoil at Tynecaste has been used to forge a bond within the dressing room which has played a huge part in achieving their Hampden success.

He said: “You could see the team spirit growing as the season progressed and maybe that is due to everything that’s been going on at the club. “The spirit we showed against Celtic in the semi-final was evidence of that.

“The pay dispute really brought everyone closer and we just decided to get on with it and hope things worked out.

“The way everyone had to stay close-knit has been a factor in reaching this final and we are all just pleased it went our way.

“We can now look forward to having a party with the fans in Edinburgh and we are delighted to give them the chance to enjoy their day.

“This is something we’ll all remember for a very long time.”

Taken from the Daily Record