Today I'm going back nine years to 2012 and the Scottish Premier League game between Hearts and Dundee. In the world of nicknames that I frequent, Hearts are, of course, better known by their rhyming slang name of the Jam Tarts whilst Dundee are much less memorably known as the Dark Blues or the Dee.
This match was my first and so far only visit to one of my all time favourite football stadiums: Tynecastle Park in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, home to Hearts since 1886. At the time that I visited, the old Archibald Leitch main stand was still present complete with it's signature criss-crossed iron latticework which was also to be found at a number of other grounds up and down the country including those of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur. Sadly the old structure has since been demolished in the name of progress and was largely unoccupied on the day of my visit possibly because it was deemed to be a fire risk (there were significant amounts of wood within it's structure). Over the years, Hearts have occasionally threatened to leave Tynecastle and the stadium was declared to be "unfit for purpose" in the early noughties by the then CEO. Indeed, plans were drawn up to sell Tynecastle and move into Edinburgh's Murrayfield Rugby Stadium instead. It probably won't surprise you to learn that the proceeds would have assisted the club with their debts and that the move was extremely unpopular with the supporters. The proposal was finally abandoned when the club was taken over by Vladimir Romanov in 2005. Hearts did end up playing four matches at Murrayfield however in 2017 when delays to the construction of the new stand replacing the Leitch classic meant that Tynecastle couldn't be used. I haven't been back to Gorgie since my original visit and I suspect that, without the Leitch stand, the ground will have lost some of it's original charm.
The only goal of the game came after just two minutes from the penalty spot. The penalty, taken by Ryan Conroy, was the softest of soft calls and the Hearts fans must have been furious. Definitely one for VAR assuming that the VAR officials ever get the hang of the phrase "clear and obvious error". Watch the video attached to my blog and you'll see what I mean. Hearts had a penalty of their own shortly afterwards although this one was a little more clearcut when John Sutton (brother of radio pundit and former Norwich, Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker Chris) was dragged back in the area . Sadly for the Jam Tarts they missed it, or rather it was well saved by the 40 year old Dundee and former Scottish international goalkeeper Rab (Robert) Douglas who was in fine form on that particular sunny afternoon. He seemed determined not to be beaten and left Tynecastle with a clean sheet against a Hearts side who surely must have counted themselves as unlucky to meet the inspired Douglas that day.
Across the length of the full season, the evidence of the respective performances in that one game proved that Hearts were indeed the better side of the two. Dundee ended up winning only seven League games all season, finishing rock bottom of the Premier League by eleven points and were relegated. Hearts did a little better finishing 10th (out of 12 teams) but with one more win (say from the game against Dundee for instance?) they would have come sixth!
CRB Match No. 1915
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