S on trophy day

to hand Celtic a one-goal start as well as a guard of honour. The Tannoy man’s thanks for a “fitting and resp ectful tribute” could also be interpreted as a pointed reference to Rangers’ failure to pay the same respects at Ibrox last weekend.

Perhaps one concern on Steven Gerrard’s par t was the potential for the reverential air cast by such a tribute to creep into the team’s subsequent play. If so, Hear ts proved his point. Even though they took kick-off, they were a goal down inside two minutes – 84 seconds to be exact. Hearts stood off Johnston as he bore down on goal and, a quick one-two with Ewan Henderson later, he had put his side in front with an angled shot that beat Zlamal at his near post.

Hear ts’ teenagers had barely had time to draw breath as they contemplated performing on such a grand stage. Not many Hearts players can say they made their full debut in front of 60,000. Hickey now can. The 16-yearold was joined in the side by Connor Smith and Andy Irving, 17 and 19 years old respectively.

T h e y a c q u i t t e d t h e ms e l ve s we l l , Hickey especially. While cup final squad places might be beyond them, there were others playing with this incentive in mind. Craig Wighton is one. It has not really happened for him so far at Hearts but he helped spook former Dundee team-mate Scott Bain by closing him down after 18 minutes. Sean Clare took possession after Bain’s poor kick and transferred the ball to Jake Mulraney, whose composed finish into the top corner was exceptional.

Zlamal brilliantly tipped a shot from Johnston past the post shortly after half-time but the striker was not to b e denied. He struck the winner after 84 minutes with a low drive from 20 yards that hit Zlamal’s right and then left post before nestling in the side-netting.