Walker looking to make up for lost opportunities
JAMIE WALKER assumed cup finals would be an annual occurrence when he lined up for the League Cup showpiece against St Mirren in 2013. Little did he know it would be seven years before he would next be heading to Hampden to battle for silverware. So the Hearts playmaker has no intention of passing up the opportunity for another memorable cup run when the Tynecastle side travel to Alloa for a place in the Betfred Cup quarter-finals. The Gorgie outfit have not won this competition since 1962 and a fresh-faced Walker was just 19 when the club last came close to smashing that hoodoo. He played 64 minutes as
Hearts succumbed to a galling 3-2 defeat against the Buddies, with goals from Isma Goncalves, Steven Thompson and Conor Newton rendering Ryan Stevenson’s brace a mere consolation. The defeat still haunts Walker — who will line up against Celtic in next month’s Scottish Cup final — even if he convinced himself he would have plenty of chances to make amends. He recalled: ‘When that final came along, I was disappointed we lost but you think you’ll get another opportunity — and that it’ll come quite quickly. ‘I’ve had to wait more than seven years to get another chance at a final. I’ve realised they don’t come around often. ‘During my career, I haven’t had many regrets, but losing that game against St Mirren is probably the biggest. ‘Does it feel like one that got away? I’d say so. After St Mirren beat Celtic in the semi-final, we were probably favourites and we fancied ourselves. We actually started pretty well but it ended up being such a disappointing day.’