Past five capital cup duels: Hibs 0 - 2 Hearts, 11 January 2009

Glen’s goal sealed cup derby win but all that mattered was beating ‘them’

THE last Edinburgh derby in the Scottish Cup was a rather low-key affair compared to the one which will take place tomorrow at Hampden.

The Easter Road match, in January 2009, was only a fourth-round tie, far enough removed from the final to ensure that neither club went into the contest with any real dreams of glory.

The teams had met in the league a week earlier at Tynecastle, with Hearts getting slightly the better of a goalless draw, hitting the woodwork three times. And Csaba Laszlo’s team would get the better of the second part of the double-header too, winning 2-0 with a goal towards the end of the first half from Christian Nade, and another in stoppage time at the end of the game by substitute Gary Glen.

The teenage striker had come as close as anyone to breaking the deadlock in the league game, hitting the bar after replacing the injured Jason Thomson.

Having come so close to scoring then, he was determined to do better in the rematch and succeeded in style, picking up a precisely timed through ball from Christos Karipidis, taking it round Hibs goalkeeper Grzegorz Szamotulski and stroking it into the net.

“I came off the bench early on in that first game, because Jason Thomson got injured,” Glen remembered. “I thought we were unlucky not to win that game.

“Then we went to Easter Road the week after. It was a great occasion – winning the game, scoring a goal. It was something else. I came on about the 81st, 82nd minute, when Hibs were pressing us. Someone won the ball in the middle of the park, and I just remember Karipidis playing a great ball through the middle. Space opened up, and I managed to round the keeper and score. Just to see all the fans running down was a great feeling. If I could do that in the final it would be unbelievable.

In Saturday’s bumper 24-page Scotsman Sport pull-out, the latest interviews, features and exclusives from the Hibs and Hearts camps ahead of the all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup final.

“That sealed the game for us, and that was the main thing – beating them. It was just a great day, coming off the bench and scoring that goal to seal the win was unbelievable. I wasn’t 19 yet.”

Glen’s goal was a sucker punch waiting to happen. Having been a goal down since the 38th minute, Hibs had no option to press forward in greater numbers as time slipped away. Even a full-strength team doing that can often leave itself exposed but, by that time, Hibs were a man down, Steven Fletcher having been red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Christophe Berra.

“I knew they were going to leave a gap now and again because they were pressing so high and looking for an equaliser,” Glen continued. “There’s always going to be gaps, and I knew with them pressing so high up the park there was going to be space in behind.

“We found the gap, and as I said it was a great ball by Karipidis. Then I just luckily got round the keeper and scored the goal.

“That was the most enjoyable – the goal and the celebrations, when I saw the fans going mental. Being at Easter Road as well, it was an unbelievable feeling. I’d scored against them at Tynecastle – it’s always great to score against them – but to score at Easter Road was extra special.”

More than three years on, Glen is still with Hearts, and still being used mainly as a substitute. He knows it will be tough to get into Paulo Sergio’s cup-final squad, but, having scored against Hibs at both Edinburgh grounds, would love to be on the mark at Hampden too.

“To get three goals against them would be something else,” he said. “But the main thing for us is to win the game. It’s only a 16-man squad, so it’s going to be harder to get into and we’ve got a couple of great strikers here already. To be involved is great, but you want to be out there as well. When you play football you want to be on from the first whistle but it’s up to the gaffer.”