Scottish Cup final: Celebrations will match any cup final in history

Many neutral observers appear inclined to align themselves with Hibernian, recognising just how much it would mean to the Easter Road club and its supporters to lift the famous old trophy for the first time in 110 years. There is undoubtedly an air of romanticism about their latest bid to emerge from Scottish Cup purgatory, coming as it does against their greatest rivals.

The more pragmatic view, however, is that Hearts hold most of the aces as they look to ensure the outcome is the same as the only previous meeting of the clubs at this stage of the tournament, way back in Queen Victoria’s reign, when the Gorgie men triumphed 3-1 in that 1896 showdown.

Paulo Sergio’s side are favourites across the board with the bookmakers to record their club’s eighth Scottish Cup triumph and with good reason. The old cliche about ‘form being thrown out of the window’ for a derby match carries little resonance as far as Hearts are currently concerned.

They arrive at the national stadium today protecting a ten-match unbeaten run over Hibs which stretches back fully three years. Hearts have won seven of those games, including all three meetings in the league this season.

The 19 points which separated the Edinburgh clubs in the final SPL table, with Hearts in fifth place and Pat Fenlon’s men second bottom after a relegation scrap not resolved until the penultimate game, can only be regarded as an accurate indicator of the difference in quality between the two squads.

Stability is not something readily associated with Hearts but Sergio has admirably provided a semblance of it in another turbulent season of Vladimir Romanov’s ownership of the club. The saga of late salary payments to players could easily have undermined the 44-year-old’s work and provided an excuse for failure. But the Portuguese coach has shown resilience and resourcefulness to unify his players and keep them on course for a glorious end to the season.

Many predicted Hearts would be in freefall after the turn of the year, with the January departure of Eggert Jonsson and Ryan Stevenson later compounded by the exit of goalkeeper Marian Kello. Instead, Sergio steered them to a top-six berth and Europa League qualification.

Their route to today’s final has been less than straightforward, starting with an unconvincing home win over Ayrshire juniors Auchinleck Talbot and then requiring a 90th-minute penalty to avoid defeat in a fifth-round replay at St Johnstone. Even that, however, was evidence of the level of conviction Sergio seems to have instilled in Hearts. It was shown dramatically in the semi-final victory over Celtic when the concession of a late equaliser to Gary Hooper did not prompt them to buckle.

Sergio has moulded a robust side around the central defensive axis of Andy Webster and Marius Zaliukas, the former’s level of performances earning him a recall to the Scotland squad. Ian Black provides an added degree of solidity in midfield, supplemented by greater technical ability than he is often credited with. In Rudi Skacel, scorer of three goals in the cup run so far and a regular tormentor of Hibs, they have a talismanic figure who has been re-invigorated by his second spell at the club.

But it is Craig Beattie’s bid to recover from a hamstring strain in time to take his place in Sergio’s starting line-up which is perhaps the most significant factor in Hearts justifying their status as favourites. They have been an almost immeasurably more cohesive and potent side with the former Celtic and Scotland striker, snapped up as a free agent in February, leading the line.

Beattie’s absence would certainly be regarded as a bonus by Fenlon, although the 43-year-old Irishman will be more occupied with ensuring his own players make the most of an occasion which offers them the chance to attain legendary status at Hibs.

Fenlon will pursue that permanent place in the club’s folklore with a largely itinerant team. There are no fewer than eight loan players in his current first-team squad, something which does not sit easily with some Hibs supporters. Yet in performing the major surgery so critically required when he succeeded Colin Calderwood last November, Fenlon could ill afford to concern himself with such traditional sensibilities.

In the event of the Scottish Cup being paraded down Leith Walk tonight, there is unlikely to be anyone wearing green and white whose joy would be diminished by the triumph having been achieved by men borrowed from Coventry City, Wolves, Stoke City and others.

One of the loanees, central defender James McPake, will captain Hibs and the much lauded contribution of the 27-year-old central defender has been pivotal in both their escape from relegation and progress to the cup final. Equally, on-loan midfielder Tom Soares has a key role alongside the powerful Isaiah Osbourne if Hibs are to prevent Black from dictating the pace and momentum of the match for Hearts.

For those predicting a Hibs victory, however, it is the front pairing of Garry O’Connor and Leigh Griffiths who give the greatest encouragement to that view. With 27 goals between them this season, including one apiece in the semi-final victory over Aberdeen, their individual battles with Webster and Zaliukas could be the most telling of an intriguing contest.

If the painful lack of cup-winning pedigree is an obvious debit against Hibs’ prospects of success, the same description cannot be applied to their manager. Fenlon was a national cup winner four times as a player, twice on each side of the Irish border, and lifted the FAI trophy again as a manager with Bohemians.

On the day of his appointment at Hibs, chairman Rod Petrie stated: “Put simply, Pat Fenlon is a winner”. Hibs fans will hope Petrie’s words are more prescient than those he chose to greet the arrival of Fenlon’s predecessor Calderwood, which he described as “a coup”.

But for the Scottish Cup run, the jury would remain very much out on how significantly Fenlon has improved Hibs. Today offers him a chance to secure almost open-ended credit among the club’s support by ending their Scottish Cup hoodoo in the most satisfying circumstances any of them could possibly imagine, earning Europa League qualification into the bargain.

In contrast to Fenlon, the CV of Sergio is less starred. A third division title win with Olhanense eight years ago provided his only managerial honour to date, although he led unfashionable Pacos Ferreira to an unlikely Portuguese Cup final appearance in 2009 where they lost narrowly 1-0 to Porto.

Sergio has already earned the respect and admiration of Hearts supporters and the case for his continued employment by the club next season, which still appears in some doubt, would surely become irresistible, even to the eccentric Romanov, if he oversees victory today.

That has to be regarded as the most probable outcome of the highest profile Edinburgh derby in history, although a Hibs win would hardly rank as a major upset. It remains to be seen whether the tension involved will allow the standard of football on show to match the sense of occasion. Irrespective of how the winners get their hands on the silverware, the depth of emotion in the celebrations are guaranteed to match any that have gone before since the competition began.

Scottish Cup final on scotsman.com

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