Winning the cup in 2006 was great... it’s just a shame the 2012 side outdid us!
Iconic image as star hails last-gasp win
FOR Craig Gordon, the last time Hearts won the Scottish Cup was a truly bittersweet experience. Sitting as a fan in the stands at Hampden as Paulo Sergio’s side thumped Pat Fenlon’s Hibs 5-1 in the Edinburgh derby, he could not have been more delighted.
Yet, as he watched the 2012 vintage write their own names in Tynecastle folklore, Gordon privately harboured fears that his own career was history.
‘It was a very emotional win for every Hearts fan, to win the cup against Hibs and to win it in that fashion,’ the Scotland international recalls.
‘It was a fantastic achievement and that team is going to be inducted in the Hearts Hall of Fame on May 8, and rightly so. It was a huge result and one that will be remembered forever.
‘I had just left Sunderland and it was at the start of my time out of the game.
‘I had my injury troubles and the chances at that time were I would never be on a football pitch again, let alone play in the Premiership or at international level. But I got there.’
Had that been the end of his career, Gordon could still have looked back fondly on winning the Scottish Cup with the Tynecastle club in 2006. Big-spending Gretna were beaten on penalties in the final after a 1-1 draw following a 4-0 Hampden thrashing of Hibs in the semi-final.
The golden afterglow from that demolition derby would last six years until their triumph was usurped by Hearts’ 5-1 hammering of their city rivals in the final in 2012 .
But Gordon sees similarities between the Class of 2006 and the Class of 2022 who face Hibs at Hampden this afternoon.
‘It was a great win until the 2012 team outdid us a little bit,’ he smiles. ‘They get the credit for that and nobody thinks too much about the semi-final win in 2006 but it was a good day.
‘Paul Hartley’s three goals were brilliant. That’s what won us the game. That team had a great team spirit, a great togetherness.
‘You can see that in this team, really coming together and fighting for each other.
‘That’s probably a big part of why we have got to where we are this season. But there is still more to be done.’
After battling back from careerthreatening injury, Gordon won all there is to win in the domestic game with Celtic.
The first of his two Scottish Cup triumphs for the Parkhead side — against Aberdeen in 2017 — provided a truly iconic Scottish football image.
As Tom Rogic’s late goal secured a 2-1 win over the Dons, clinching an invincible Treble, Gordon fell to his knees as the fans erupted in elation behind him.
‘I don’t have any pictures up at home yet,’ he says with a shrug. ‘Maybe once I finish playing.
‘But right now it’s about focusing on playing and next it is Hibs in the semi-final. I don’t look back, I just look forward.’
With Hearts, Gordon has already reached another Scottish Cup final, in 2020, beating Hibs in the semi-final once more before losing to Celtic on penalties in the final.
Another striking image endures of Gordon laughing after producing a point-blank save from Easter Road striker Kevin Nisbet in the 2-1 extra-time win.
Asked what made him chuckle, Gordon replies: ‘It was the reaction of the Hibs players standing in the box. (Josh) Doig was just looking at me. I knew it was a good save and it was good to look at the disbelief on their faces.
‘We all become goalies for that feeling of denying a striker a certain goal and witnessing their disappointment.
‘That’s what I was laughing at. It wasn’t anything too sinister. It was actually very unusual. I don’t normally react emotionally like that on the park.’
Gordon is now desperate to write a fresh chapter in his Scottish Cup success story this season at the club he grew up supporting.
But whatever happens, he loves playing in a competition that — unlike the FA Cup where the top clubs routinely field weakened sides — retains all of its magic.
‘The Scottish Cup is a great tournament,’ he says. ‘No matter what, everyone wants to win it.
‘It’s got great traditions. Every club plays their strongest team in every single round. Every team is desperate to try to get to Hampden to win it.
‘The prestige of winning the
Scottish Cup for any club is huge. It would be great if I could manage to get to another final and it would be incredible if I could win a trophy with Hearts again. But we are still two games away from that.
‘The next game is against Hibs, so our full concentration must be on that. It’s great that Hearts are back at Hampden again and we are looking forward to it.
‘It’s going to be a tough game, but we are looking good in training and we can’t wait for the game to start.
‘Let’s see if we can go there and put on a good performance.’