Maroon memories: Norrie at the double as Hearts dump Celts

Two goals from striker Norrie Davidson helped Hearts complete a league double over Celtic, although the Parkhead side did field six reserves on the last day of a season which saw them finish fourth behind champions Rangers, Kilmarnock and Third Lanark.

Hearts, having been champions the previous season, finished seventh, level on points with Hibs but just ahead on goal average.

The Jam Tarts were much the better side against the Hoops, though, with Davidson, the "marksman-in-chief" described as being fully fit for the first time in a maroon jersey. He was effective in the air against defenders bigger than himself and his flicks and lay-offs would have been more profitable had his team-mates shown more understanding of his intentions.

Hearts winger Tommy Henderson signalled the Gorgie side's intentions early on by beating his man and crashing a shot off the post. Unfortunately, the wide man's performance suffered as the game went on – mostly due to the very heavy pitch.

At the other end skipper John Cumming and his defensive partner Willie Polland were rock solid, with Polland particularly drawing praise for his coolness under pressure.

The centre half was said to have made Celtic legend John Hughes "look like an apprentice".

Speedy full back Danny Ferguson was described as the "best back on the field" and, overall, the Hearts display gave plenty of hope to the few fans who travelled to Glasgow that manager Tommy Walker was finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel in his bid to rebuild a successful side.

Hearts centre forward Willie Wallace opened the scoring with a first-time shot but his link up play with his new team-mates left a bit to be desired and his inside forwards suffered as a result.

After Wallace's strike, Aberdonian Davidson scored a fine headed goal in the first half to give Hearts a two-goal lead.

Stevie Chalmers, who went on to be a goal hero for the Lisbon Lions six years later, got Celtic's goal but the scoring was completed by Davidson with a neatly-taken goal with just ten minutes to go.

The Celtic team was certainly not at full strength with Duncan McKay, John Kennedy, Pat Crerand and Billy McNeill all absent at the back.

Willie Fernie and Charlie Gallagher were missing up front and their replacements were very disappointing.

However, it was clear that the Celtic attack was blunted by a very effective Hearts defence on the night.

Crucial victory in race for third spot

THE high-fives and back-slapping from the Hearts players at the end of this game suggested they were only too aware of the importance of victory in their bid to finish third in the league for a second successive season.

The Jambos went into the game six points ahead of nearest rivals Dunfermline, who had won at Parkhead the day before with the teams meeting in the following round of fixtures.

Craig Levein's men were stumbling towards the finishing line and picking up too many draws, while

United were unbeaten in 11 matches at Tannadice where the visitors had already lost once in the season.

At times they had to weather a United storm as Ian McCall's men desperately tried to hold onto their impressive home run, but after Mark de Vries' fourth-minute opener Hearts rarely looked like surrendering the game. Andy Webster's header midway through the second half made the result safe and boss Craig Levein was delighted with the result.

"I saw this as a big match. November is the last time that Dundee Utd lost here and I think if we want to improve and keep ourselves on the front foot then these are the kind of matches that we have to try and win.

"I think we are now very hard to beat both at home and away and that goes down to the type of players that we've got.

"We don't like getting beat, basically. We have players who have a desire not to lose matches and that comes from the players having a belief in themselves. In the end I thought we were pretty comfortable winners and I'm very pleased to have got the three points."

Hearts were without midfielder Phil Stamp who picked up a rib injury in the previous weekend's draw with Celtic while Andy Kirk also failed a late fitness test with a groin problem that had forced him to withdraw from Northern Ireland's game with Serbia & Montenegro in midweek. Patrick Kisnorbo was also dropped to the bench after he played the full 90 minutes of Australia's 1-0 defeat to Tunisia which meant Graham Weir, Joe Hamill and De Vries all stepped into the starting XI. The disruption didn't seem to affect the visitors and they took the lead with the first serious attack of the game and made the points safe through Webster.

Jambos cheer Hibs as Euro spot is sealed

THIS wasn't a game of two halves – more like a day of two games.

While Hearts went about their business professionally, they received more than a little help from their fans on the Tynecastle terracing. With their ears glued to radios for news from Celtic Park, the 7000 fans transmitted their own message to Joe Jordan's men as the Jam Tarts' Euro rivals went two goals down to Hibs.

That gave Hearts the impetus to freeze out Falkirk and storm their way through the door that led to European football the following season.

Jordan had demanded that his side adopt a 'tunnel-vision' approach to the match, knowing that events at Parkhead were outwith their control. To their credit, Hearts did that and dominated a Falkirk side that looked as if they had started their close-season break 90 minutes too early. The only real fear for Hearts was that they could not convert their territorial supremacy into goals.

It was left to old head Eamonn Bannon to provide the answer in 34 minutes with a lovely hook shot into the top corner of the net. Hearts opened out in the second half and Ian Ferguson's glancing header gave them the cushion they required.

From then on there was an unreal atmosphere about Tynecastle as fans strained to hear news from Parkhead. And never has a Hibs goal been more acclaimed in Gorgie than Pat McGinlay's which put the Easter Road side 2-0 up.

Hearts had maintained a title challenge to Rangers and it would have been a tragedy if their efforts had gone unrewarded. This result ensured their place in the UEFA Cup the following season – a campaign ended in the second round by Standard Liege.