Hearts' 2022 end-of-year awards: Player of the year, best signing, best Spanish friendly fighter, most improved

As 2021 comes to a close, we look back at the last 12 months at Tynecastle by handing out some end-of-year awards.

Player of the year

Regrettably, the recipient of this award will not be able to win it next year, not at least without some sort of comeback story that would break what we understand about probability.

Craig Gordon continued to excel in the second half of the 2022/23 season, enough for him to win the SWFA Player of the Year award. This campaign he looked a little creeky, which is understandable given he’s approaching 40, but still pulled out plenty of heroics to keep Hearts in matches.

Stephen Kingsley celebrates after putting Hearts 2-0 up on Hibs in the Scottish Cup semi-final with a stunning free-kick. Picture: SNS

The double-leg break he suffered at Tannadice not only robs the club of one of their star talents, it also puts into doubt the future of Gordon’s career. At his age and with such a devastating injury it’s a long road back, but if anyone can do it it’s Scotland’s No.1.

Goal of the year

I didn't even bother looking through all of Hearts' goals on Wyscout for this one: it's Stephen Kingsley's strike at Hampden against Hibs. It looked like a perfectly rehearsed free-kick, but the fact that they actually had to improvise due to the way Hibs defended it makes it even more special. The view of the curl, how it starts so far outside the post and ends up in the postage stamp, while also bending around Harry Clarke, it's just incredible. And it ended up being the match-winner as well.

Best signing

It was a tough award to give last year and it remains the same for 2022. Lawrence Shankland has repaid the fee paid for him in goals, Kye Rowles showed at the World Cup his undoubted quality, Alex Cochrane has taken another step since signing permanently and Ellis Simms was a big reason why Hearts were able to sprint away from the chasing pack last season and make the cup final. It's a difficult one, but seeing as he looks certain to be the man Hearts have been seeking for over 30 years, a 20-goal-a-season striker, let’s go for Shankland.

The 'whose round is it?' award for the best European moment

While it was a right good laugh to go wild in the away end at the Artemio Franchi Stadium when Stephen Humphrys scored to make it 4-1 to the hosts, it's got to be the victory in Riga.

RFS were no great shakes but there was genuine concern before the game that Hearts were going to be the worst team in the group after their hosts got a point in Florence in the opening match (I’ll never understand how). Shankland opened the scoring before the break but Hearts couldn't find the elusive second, not until the 93rd minute when Alan Forrest slipped a finish beyond the keeper at his near post. Cue bedlam in the away end and plastic pint tumblers flying into the sky. "OH WHAT A NIGHT..."

The biggest LOL at the Hibees moment

Oh it's been a good year for this – almost spoiled for choice – but it's hard to pick anything as magical as Hearts defeating Hibs 3-1 at Tynecastle to condemn them to the bottom six one weekend and then beating them in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park the next. Oh, and they sacked Shaun Maloney off the back of those two defeats. ‘Alexa, queue Joy Division’

The Rocky Balboa award for best Almeria scrap participant

The strangest moment of the year came in a setting where, typically, not much of note happens at all. Mid-season friendlies barely register much of interest with supporters yet this one was heard around the world after Hearts’ match with Almeria in the Costa del Sol was abandoned after 42 minutes due to a, in the words of Robbie Neilson, 40-man fight. Alex Cochrane was (kinda) the catalyst, Craig Halkett as captain for the day obviously got involved, while Andy Halliday sprinted over from the substitutes bench to have his say. But let’s go for young Arron Darge. The teenage centre-back wasted no time in getting involved in the ruck to defend his older team-mates, a surefire way to earn their respect.

The John Souttar award for biggest injury absence

After the constant injury woes of the second Craig Levein managerial era, it looked like Hearts had left their sicknote reputation in the past. Then the 2-2 draw at Dundee United in March happened with five players going off during the contest and injuries have been an issue ever since.

You could say Craig Gordon for how it may impact Hearts in the near future, but that’s all guesswork and conjecture at this point as there was only one game remaining in 2022 after his injury. The award could also go to Kye Rowles, Craig Halkett or Stephen Kingsley. They're the first choice defence and they've barely played together. But their absence was more keenly felt due to typically another of them also being out. So I'm going to go for Liam Boyce. He has his critics, but the attack struggled to work fluently in the months after his knee injury, including Barrie McKay's form dropping off a cliff.

The Dennis Wyness award for Most Improved Player

We've mentioned him already: Alex Cochrane. He's gone from being a steady, dependable but not flashy, 6 or 7/10 every week sort of player to one of the stars of the team. He's arguably been Hearts' best player so far this season and you'd certainly be hard pressed to find better individual performances than his in the 3-2 victory over Motherwell. A future Hearts captain in the making.

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