Edwards enjoys standing out from the crowd in Edinburgh

RYAN EDWARDS, by his own admission, has never been an inconspicuous individual. As ‘a foreign, tanned guy with a ponytail’, he has grown accustomed to a degree of recognition on the streets of Scotland.

However, the Hearts midfielder insists his Scottish Cup final heroics have opened his eyes to a whole new level of fandom.

Edwards (right) gave the Tynecastle men the lead in the Hampden showpiece last month and, for 10 tantalising minutes, it seemed like Hearts were destined to derail Celtic’s treble Treble bid and bring the trophy back to Gorgie.

Instead, Odsonne Eduoard struck twice to secure a 2-1 triumph for Neil Lennon’s charges.

Nevertheless, it was a moment Edwards will always treasure and, as he has swiftly learned, is destined to live long in the memories of Hearts supporters.

‘I’ve been recognised a few times before,’ smiled the 25-year-old. ‘It happened occasionally in Australia when I played for my home city team, Perth Glory, and then at Partick Thistle I would get one or two fans come up for a chat.

‘After all, I was a tanned, foreign boy with a ponytail, living in Glasgow. I didn’t blend in!

‘But it has been more common in Edinburgh since scoring that goal.

‘The strangest one was the Monday after the cup final. I was at the airport for a 6am flight and a couple came up to me for a photograph. The girl said: “Ryan, that was the best eight minutes of my life”.

‘I was standing there like: “You do realise you are standing next to your partner, right?”.

‘So that was an odd one. ‘I’ve watched the goal back so many times. I love the camera angle that shows the fans going crazy. ‘I get stopped on the streets, with fans saying: “Thanks for giving us that hope that we were about to win the Scottish Cup”.’ A signing from Partick last summer, Edwards was swiftly deemed surplus to requirements and farmed out on loan to St Mirren.

Even when he returned to Tynecastle in January, he had to wait until April before making his debut for the club.

Edwards, who was part of a Hearts side which lost 2-0 in a friendly at Arbroath yesterday, added: ‘The cup final was my fifth appearance and, after finishing on such a high, I just wanted to keep playing. I want to bring that momentum into the new season.’