Craig Gordon: Hearts victory over Hibs was 'statement' to rest of Scotland after relegation

Hearts hero Craig Gordon insists Hearts made a “statement” to the rest of Scottish football by defeating Hibs 2-1 to reach the Scottish Cup final.

Hearts Michael Smith and Craig Halkett celebrates with Craig Gordon.

The 37-year-old goalkeeper turned in a man-of-the-match display as the Jambos overcame their Edinburgh rivals at a rain-soaked Hampden, with Liam Boyce netting the winner from the penalty spot in extra time.

The victory was especially poignant for the Tynecastle club considering that they were relegated from the Premiership to the Championship after the coronavirus crisis curtailed the 2019/20 season. Hearts were four points adrift with eight matches to, sitting in last place, when a majority of SPFL clubs voted to call the campaign “as is” early in the summer, while they failed to overturn the decision in court. They were also told to halt training in August after Aberdeen and Celtic player broke coronavirus rules.

Gordon admitted that Hearts used the events of the past six months as motivation against a Hibs team currently sitting third in the Premiership.

“It's huge for myself and the club because of everything that went on with the relegation, the voting and everything else in the last few months,” said Gordon.

“This was our chance to come back and make a statement.

“We came back in pre-season early to give ourselves as many weeks as possible because we knew we'd be up against it in terms of getting up to speed.

“We gave ourselves the best possible chance and we've come out on top.

“We do feel it. It's not just us as players, it's fans and people connected with the club who feel we were treated unfairly.

“If we can use that to our advantage, we'll do it for as long as I can.”

Gordon made a series of vital stops to keep Hibs out and reckons the win is one of the best of his career.

“This is up there with my best days in the game,” added Gordon. “Just because of the magnitude of what it meant for the club.

“I made some good saves in the game and we've won it.

“Sometimes when you lose the game the saves don't matter quite as much, but today to make a contribution that helps get the win is massive for me and everyone at Hearts.”

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