Defiant Hearts prevail in front of SFA/SPFL and can now look forward with optimism

Anyone wondering about the magnitude of Hearts’ win at Hampden Park on Saturday need only review the scenes at the final whistle.

The celebrations between Hearts manager Robbie Neilson and his assistants Lee McCulloch and Gordon Forrest.

Robbie Neilson’s sprint and jump into the arms of his assistants, Lee McCulloch and Gordon Forrest, sparked a dance for joy in the technical area. It was a moment illustrating the delight like no other.

Beating Hibs in a Scottish Cup semi-final would exhilarate Hearts at any point in any season, but as a Championship club it was significantly sweeter.

Neilson knew what he was inheriting in June by returning to Tynecastle Park, where morale was low and anger high due to events over the summer.

The rage stemming from an enforced relegation and all the sub-plots surrounding it will not dissipate for a long time. It simply magnifies the satisfaction from Saturday, which is already the most significant day of Neilson’s second tenure so far.

The drama of Craig Gordon’s saves, Craig Wighton’s opening goal, Christian Doidge’s equaliser, Kevin Nisbet’s penalty miss and Liam Boyce’s winner will live long in the memory.

As owner Ann Budge looked down from the main stand at Hampden, she would have felt fully vindicated after luring Neilson back to Edinburgh from Dundee United.

Fans sitting at home in their living-rooms would doubtless agree it was a pivotal move after the difficulties under Craig Levein and Daniel Stendel.

The achievement amounts to more than just a Scottish Cup final on December 20 for Hearts. The elation should add even more momentum to the Gorgie club’s campaigns in the Championship – a league they must win to gain automatic promotion – and Betfred Cup.

They had already won every one of five fixtures in total across those two competitions before squaring off against Hibs, who had played ten more competitive games due to the Premiership’s earlier start.

Hearts’ defiance and resilience in knocking out their Edinburgh rivals after extra-time also proved they have a rebuilt team able to compete with and overcome Premiership opposition.

That alone gives a sense of reassurance to all connected with the club after watching them struggle so often with that very task last season.

Additionally, it sent a message to onlooking officials from the Scottish Football Association and Scottish Professional Football League. Despite the relegation, court case, arbitration and even an order to stop training, Hearts still prevailed.

Neilson and his players can now approach Saturday’s league game against Inverness with a sense of relief that such a massive hurdle has been successfully negotiated.

Then comes a Betfred Cup tie at East Fife before further Championship fixtures against Dunfermline, Alloa, Morton and Queen of the South in the build-up to the cup final.

Wighton is scoring goals and looking like an entirely different player, there is no longer such heavy reliance on Steven Naismith, and Stephen Kingsley is a specialist left-back able to solve what has been a problem position.

Injured players like Josh Ginnelly and Christophe Berra will return in the weeks ahead. Peter Haring is already back after more than a year out. There is also hope that John Souttar could don a maroon shirt before the season ends.

Towards the end of a year which seemed at times to be tormenting Hearts mercilessly, there are now brighter skies above Tynecastle.

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