Stewart & Sutton had an intense pre-match debate .. it was the last fierce battle of the day
The Red Sea, meanwhile, issued a statement insisting it was “offended” by the comparison with the Easter Road defence.
Celtic compounded their misery in the second half and finished 5-2 winners.
Hearts took on Rangers in the weekend’s second semi-final, with coverage of the postLevein era’s first game featuring an intense debate between Stewart and Chris Sutton.
It would prove to be the last fiercely-contested clash of the afternoon.
Stewart relished the opportunity to list Levein’s failings before it was eventually pointed out that the question was actually: “Michael, how do you think Rangers will set up in midfield?”
Things soon improved for Sutton, meanwhile, who tweeted: “Huge thanks to the Rangers fans behind me today for singing my name throughout. It means a lot.”
“You were turning round waving and taking pictures,” responded @atcolin, to which @Stiby13 replied: “He’s saying thanks.”
Steven MacLean was a surprise starter ahead of Uche Ikpeazu. The veteran striker had told the Sunday Mail “this could be my last semi” and that semi was ended prematurely when he was abruptly pulled off by Austin MacPhee. Caretaker manager Him Out Of The Foo Fighters replaced MacLean with Uche Ikpeazu after 39 minutes. The Englishman’s omission from the starting line-up was the day’s most baffling decision, if you exclude the decision of some Hearts fans to show up with optimism. The afternoon wasn’t entirely without positives for the Tynecastle side. Most predicted they wouldn’t last longer than 15 minutes but Hearts almost made it to the half-hour mark without losing a player through injury.
Glenn Whelan stopped playing after 25 minutes, a full 24 minutes after most of his team-mates.
When Hearts conceded 110 seconds before half-time, MacPhee would have been desperate to get his troops down the tunnel and encourage them to do the opposite of what they’d done in the first half.
His players were clearly listening, as they conceded 110 seconds after half-time.
That was Alfredo Morelos’ first, and his second came just after the hour mark. TV cameras showed Hearts fans leaving but despite appearances it actually did represent progress. If Levein had been in charge they’d have left by half-time.
Sutton told viewers: “In previous years they’ve choked at this stage but it’s a different Rangers this season”, prompting thousands of men with ‘bhoy67’ at the end of their Twitter handles to reply: “It’s been a different Rangers for seven seasons.”
Celtic and Rangers now have a cup final derby to look forward to while Hibs get back to their usual business of being sh**e but not quite as sh**e as Hearts.
When asked about Morelos’ future after the game, Steven Gerrard said: “Going nowhere.” Presumably he misheard the question as “How would you sum up Heart of Midlothian Football Club?”