Why Hearts showed us the reason we love football in victory over Rangers in the Scottish Cup

When Steven McLean blew his whistle, signalling the start of the Scottish Cup quarter-final tie between Hearts and Rangers, there were swathes of empty seats in the home end devoid of a bum. Upright, stationary and unbothered.

Looking out towards the Wheatfield and Gorgie stands, the gaps were understandable, despite this being an encounter between two of Scottish football’s biggest clubs with a place at Hampden Park in the Scottish Cup semi-final at stake.

The game was live on television, albeit via subscription service Premier Sports, with ticket prices a huge bone of contention - £30 for an adult and £20 for a concession. Plenty of fans voiced their displeasure across social media, accusing the club of greed, and they made their point with fewer than 9,000 home fans in an attendance of 11,428.

It should be noted, however, that the price is set on an agreement between the two clubs, and the Evening News understands that Hearts wanted admission to be £25. Especially when fans are forking out £32 for a ticket to Tuesday’s Edinburgh derby, the club having announced on the morning of the game that the allocation for the game is now sold out. There comes a tipping point for supporters, no matter their loyalty and passion.

On top of all of that, Hearts sit bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership with just three league wins during a torrid campaign. Frustrated doesn’t come close to summing up the feeling amongst the fans. The Tynecastle support have not had value for money for a sustained period and it is understandably difficult to justify such an outlay in the current predicament.

Crowd reaction

To say expectations of a result against Steven Gerrard’s was low would be a huge understatement. That was reflected in the opening stages with not much happening on the pitch and those in the home end apathetically silent.

Not long after the gruesome injury to John Souttar, however, Hearts got a foothold in the game. The foothold turned into dominance and, via Oliver Bozanic’s winner, it then became about control.

So much has and will be made of the result, as well as the performance and the attitude of the Hearts players, and rightly so, and what it could mean for the team’s season. Yet, it was the reaction of the crowd throughout the game which was most heartening. Any apathy soon dissipated, replaced by adrenaline and anger, thrill and tension, then relief and rejoicement.

At times Tynecastle Park rocked and bounced, as if it was jam-packed with baying hordes, urging the team on. The 8,000 or so souls in the ground made an almighty racket. Once they had realised this Rangers team, devoid of any attacking spark and a defence with the composure of a drunk bomb disposal unit, were there for the taking they rediscovered their belief and realised they were in with a fine chance of a return to Hampden Park, a return to a semi-final.

An expectation that another loss was on the cards in a grim season was replaced by the realisation that the team have reached the fourth semi-final in succession for the first time in the club’s history. Now 180 minutes stand between Daniel Stendel’s men and cup glory.

Loving life

And isn’t this why we all love football? Why we go back week after week despite the feeling of ‘why do I bother?’. Why we retain that glimmer of ‘you never know’ despite all the evidence that has come in the weeks and months before yelling ‘NO! Don’t even think about getting your hopes up’..

Few in the Hearts support expected to be in a situation where they were urging McLean to blow his whistle and put an end to the madcap affair and confirm Hearts’ place in the last four. Most likely expected to suffer, a case of getting this over and done with. Instead fans were loving life, enjoying their football.

Smiles, fist pumps, ecstasy and even disbelief were all to see after the game. The Hearts song being belted out less coherently as the evening progressed in Gorgie’s pubs.

The ticket prices for that match and Scottish football in general shouldn’t be forgotten, but for a fair few hours they certainly were. No matter the price, no matter any ill-feeling supporters have, moments and matches like these are the ones we all cherish as football fans.

The Hearts support got to experience that feeling, where nothing is expected but everything is realised, thanks to a performance and result few saw coming. There will be trials and tribulations to come, perhaps starting with a visit to high-scoring Hibs in the coming days, but Saturday evening was just about enjoying light amongst the darkness.