Five members of The Terrace Podcast crew pick their favourite moments from the final day match between Hearts and Rangers at Tynecastle.
Gary Cocker
As action-packed as the game was, the one part that still lingers is watching the title celebrations and reminiscing about Dundee doing the same thing last year (although our players didn’t dare take a selfie stick up on the podium). It might be the second tier, but given the circumstances – both the calibre of opposition and Hearts’ own predicaments in recent years – it was quite rightly celebrated by fans as the rebirth of the club after a bloody torrid few years.
I must admit that I have a soft spot for both Edinburgh teams; their passionate, strong fanbase, their distinct heritage and identities, and now their finishing above Rangers in the Championship have all made me quite fond of my adopted city’s sides. It was also great to see Ann Budge parade the trophy at full time; she, more than anybody else, has brought some common sense and a feel good factor to Scottish football this season. Once she’s finished with Hearts, maybe she could give running the SFA or SPFL a bash too….
Joel Sked
Despite an excellent scoring record of 12 goals from 15 appearances Heart of Midlothian won’t spend the required money to purchase Genero Zeefuik from Gronigen, and rightly so. He is predatory around the box but doesn’t contribute as much outside the penalty area. However, there could not have been a better way to bow out than emerging from the substitute bench to rescue a point against Rangers with two excellent goals.
Hearts had arguably put in their best performance against Hibernian or Rangers all season but found themselves two down going into the last 10 minutes. The first goal was an exceptional header; backing away from the goal, Zeefuik generated sufficient power on Morgaro Gomis’s cross and the perfect trajectory to direct the ball away from Cammy Bell and into the corner. The second goal was not as easy on the eye but nearly as impressive. A long ball caused mayhem in the Rangers box and while everyone was losing their head, Zeefuik waited and waited for the ball to fall for him, shift it into space and whip it past Bell to provoke unbridled scenes of joy.
Craig Cairns
For 80 minutes he was imperious. After losing his marker to head in a Nicky Law free kick midway through the first half, Darren McGregor spent the majority of his remaining minutes on the pitch shutting out whatever and whoever Hearts threw in his direction.
Moved into the centre of defence to cover for the under-fire Lee McCulloch, McGregor closed down every run and blocked every strike from an increasingly frustrated Osman Sow. With little over an hour played, Hearts manager Robbie Neilson decided to test McGregor further, by pairing Sow’s pace with the might of Genero Zeefuik.
For the next twenty minutes Hearts enjoyed the majority of the possession, yet McGregor continued to lead the Rangers defence through the barrage. But with less than ten minutes remaining, after a shocking error from his goalkeeper Cammy Bell, McGregor was rushed into a rushed clearance that went askew. He failed to regain his concentration for the resulting throw and Zeefuik pounced to head Hearts back into the game.
Hearts sensed an equaliser was attainable and threw Callum Paterson forward to further unsettle the Rangers defence. It was Paterson who rose above substitute Lee McCulloch to flick the ball into the path of Zeefuik, who used his strength to see off the challenges of McGregor before firing the Tynecastle side level.
Now a cynic could place all blame on McCulloch, pointing out that at he entered the field of play at 2-0, with less than ten minutes remaining and a mere 49 seconds before Zeefuik scored his first goal. Regardless of how much of a part McCulloch played, for eighty minutes McGregor was the man-of-the-match, for the last ten he was bullied out of it.
Craig Fowler
Have to say I just loved Callum Paterson’s reaction when Genero Zeefuik netted the second goal. He booted the ball high into the air after it rebounded out the back of the net and then went sprinting off to celebrate with the fans. It summed up the feeling in the stadium and demonstrated that, despite having nothing to play for in terms of promotion or the league table, this was a game that Hearts refused to lose.
While Zeefuik will get all the plaudits for a forward’s masterclass in strength, composure and finishing, the goal would not be possible were it not for the aerial prowess of Paterson who won his aerial challenge against Marius Zaliukas. It’s a side to his game which is a little underrated; he’s absolutely superb in the air. It’s what makes me think he will go on to be a top class right back one day and why it’s worth him remaining at the position even if a lot of his other attributes belong to a right midfielder. Even if I could cross the ball better at times.
Also, this guy…
Tony Anderson
Kenny Miller has the most smug face in Scottish football. He does. I don’t know exactly what it is, but everything about his mug – when he’s not distraught with the ineptitude of his teammates – screams self-satisfaction whenever he’s tucked the ball in the back of the net. I had the misfortune of witnessing such excessive pride a couple of months back when he netted Rangers’ second in their 2-0 win over Hibs at Easter Road, and I have to say I wasn’t upset to see Hearts fans suffer through the same when he netted at Tynecastle.
However, as much as I don’t like Hearts, I certainly don’t like Rangers. And even though Hibs had already secured second place in the league table prior to Zeefuik’s late double, I still felt immense satisfaction at the Jamborinos denying Rangers a late win and, hopefully, wiping the smug right off Kenny Miller’s face.
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