Scottish Cup final: Hearts' Ryan McGowan is wizard of Oz against Hibs

By Ewing Grahame

10:30PM BST 20 May 2012

On Saturday, however, his choice was vindicated. The full-back, now 22, has made himself a fixture in the first team at Tynecastle and he capped his most impressive season to date with a goal in the demolition derby against Hibernian at Hampden.

However, the highlight for McGowan was being able to indulge in a proper family celebration after ensuring his name would be writ large in Hearts’ history books.

“My dad, Jamie, surprised me by arriving at Edinburgh Airport from Adelaide unannounced earlier in the week and asking me to come and get him,” he said.

“That was a surprise and a big bonus for me. It was great to see him at the end of the game, a special moment for me.

“I made a big decision when I came over here. My dad was born in Coatbridge but this is the first time he’s ever seen me play in the first team, the first time he’s seen me in a final and now he’s also seen me score for the first time.

“That was a set-piece we’d worked on in training. Rudi got in a shot, their ‘keeper got a hand to it and I nodded it in - it wasn’t that far out.

“I wouldn’t say it was an important goal but, at 3-1, they were looking to get right back in it so it took the wind out of their sails and made us comfortable for the rest of the game.”

McGowan revealed that he almost left the national stadium without the first winner’s medal of his fledgling career.

“I actually lost my medal on the pitch,” he said. “I didn’t even know until someone tried to take a photo of me with my medal and I went to hold it up and realised it had come off the ribbon.

“Fortunately, a steward found it and gave it back to me. Now I’ll need to take it back home this summer because my mum will be dying to see it.”

Craig Beattie had already won the Scottish Cup three times with Celtic but the former Scotland striker, whose hamstring problems saw him reduced to a cameo role on Saturday, showed no signs of being sated by success in the competition.

“We were cleverer than them,” said the 28 year-old. “The red card and the penalty put the game to bed and we just dictated the whole game from then on, knocking the ball about.

“The boys were ecstatic in the dressing room because we’ve created history – our names will live forever. People still talk about players from decades ago and what they achieved and we certainly achieved something here.

“I’ve enjoyed the whole run, especially the build-up to the final and I’ve enjoyed watching the younger lads enjoy it as well.

“This is my fourth winner’s medal but it’s definitely the sweetest. I played a real part in it, scoring one and making one in the quarter-final against St Mirren and then setting up Rudi Skacel and scoring the winner in the semi against Celtic.”

Like manager Paulo Sergio and other members of the playing staff, Beattie, who signed on until the end of the season after being released by Swansea City in February, is waiting to discover whether or not his immediate future lies down Gorgie way.

“I would expect there to be talks but I don’t know if I’ll be here next year,” he said. “Right now, though, I just want to enjoy this.”

Skacel became the first player for over a century to win the Cup twice with Hearts and the 32-year-old, who also scored in the 2006 win over Gretna, signed off his time at Tynecastle with a brace and a well-merited pop at their derby rivals.

“We showed everybody that there is only one team in Edinburgh,” said the Czech Republic midfielder. “We definitely felt, with their body language and everything, that Hibs were scared.

“They had problems in defence. We had confidence we could beat them. It was an easy win and it looked like an easy win but it was 2-1 at half-time so anything could have happened. “But I still believed then we would win. Now it will be a massive celebration the next two days for us.”

Winger Andrew Driver said: "For a game against your biggest rivals in a cup final to go like that, it's just an absolute dream come true. The wildest dreams were that we were going to win, but for the last few weeks all I could see was a green bus in my head. I think it was my dad that put it in there, he said all he could see was a green open-topped bus.

"The nerves took hold, but the way the game went it just took care of itself. The fear of losing the game was massive. They were right when they said we were scared of losing, of course we were. But we did our job, we were professional about it. We went and gave our all on the pitch and it showed through in the end."

Captain Marius Zaliukas was thrilled after lifting the cup in a one-sided contest. The Lithuanian defender said: "All week we were very confident about the game. First half when they scored it was a wee bit disturbing, but second half the first couple of minutes decided everything. We made it through very easily. It was probably not a difficult game, but it was the best game ever."

Taken from telegraph.co.uk