Gary Mackay on Hearts' wow factor, Zaliukas shock and holding a Hampden hoodoo over Hibs

The players and coaching staff created a wonderful achievement with the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Hibs, but the death of Marius Zaliakus at the age of just 36 came as a real shock. It just beggars belief. I had the pleasure of meeting Zal at a few functions and he came across as a quiet, shy lad who went onto the pitch and just led by example. He seemed to enjoy his time playing with Hearts and the supporters responded to that and loved his attitude.

It's a really sad time for everybody associated with Hearts but more so for his close friends and family back in Lithuania. At such a young age as well, it did put a slight dampener on the occasion. All we can do is remember all the good times with Zal but he’ll be sadly missed.

As for the game itself, come the end I had to scrape myself off the ceiling. From Craig Gordon's performance, to the heart and desire the players showed, it was just full of wow factor.

There was a lot of talk about how Hearts needed width in their team this season, but we went without natural width and got a peach of a cross that led to the first goal. The second goal comes from intricate play through the middle of the team as well.

We went toe-to-toe with them and Robbie Neilson got all the major decisions right. He set out what he thought was the right team to start with but the impact of the substitutes really opens up competition for places. For Peter Haring and Steven Naismith to come on, having not had a lot of real competitive game time, make an impact and increase the level of Hearts performance was brilliant to see. Aidy White came on and won the penalty and Andy Irving is a good prospect who came on for Andy Halliday when the clock was running down.

You could tell Hearts were well prepared even though they started the season much later than Hibs. People were wondering why they went down south to play friendlies against top clubs like Burnley. But you're not playing them to win football matches, you're playing them to set a standard that you're trying to reach. That ultimately has stood the team in good stead and it was wonderful for the players and the staff.

You could see how much it meant to Robbie, Lee McCulloch and Gordon Forrest, who are not long in the door, guiding Hearts to a cup final after all the to-ing and fro-ing during the summer, and also the fact it was against your nearest rivals.

In my playing days, we used to love going to Easter Road and winning in derby matches. We felt we had a right hoodoo over them and always felt we could win at their place. Now it looks as though Hearts going to Hampden is another situation where they expect to win against Hibs all the time, so long may that continue.

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