Hearts break 23,000 mark after huge first day of general sale

Hearts have sold over 23,000 tickets for their Betfred Cup semi-final clash with Celtic.

Join our Facebook group Our Edinburgh to share images and news from and around the Capital

The Gorgie Road side opened up a general sale on Thursday morning after more than 18,000 were snapped up by season-ticket holders.

Fans queued around the block outside the Tynecastle ticket office as they eagerly looked to book their seat for the match at Murrayfield.

Hearts fans have sold 23,000 of their 30,000 allocation so far. Picture: SNS

Hearts have now announced that over 5,000 have been shifted on the first day as it looks increasingly likely that the Ladbrokes Premiership leaders will sell their full 30,000 allocation.

This news comes just hours after it was announced Aberdeen would be handing back around 5,000 of their initial 20,300 allocation to the SPFL for their semi-final meeting with Rangers at Hampden Park.

Owner Ann Budge expressed her delight with the backing Hearts have received from their fans on the club website.

She said: “We are absolutely thrilled with our sales so far which guarantee that the team will receive a tremendous backing from the stands on the day.

“We did our utmost to ensure the original arrangements of the game were changed in order to give supporters of all ages the chance to support their team…and the response has been everything I hoped for.

“We want this to be a day out to remember for the whole family and have enabled supporters to purchase up to 4 tickets per person.

“Craig and the players have previously spoken about the crucial role the fans can play in spurring the team on and we would like to thank everyone who has bought a ticket in anticipation of their fantastic support.”