A wait off their minds; Now Hearts have the chance to become a real force.

Strange things took place at Celtic Park on the final day of the season when the game's natural order was reversed dramatically. Hearts won a trophy and Rangers did not.

Saturday's Tennents Scottish Cup Final gave Hearts their opportunity to emerge from the shadows as a new and vibrant force while it was also the day the Ibrox warhorses found they had galloped into one battle too many.

At the end of a match which had been gripping if not particularly attractive Jim Jefferies looked gone. His eyes were glazed as he faced the media, but he was only going through the motions.

As he left to go back to the bedlam of the dressing room he offered a hand and a smile to his opposite number Walter Smith. The pair gripped for an unusually long time, but no words were spoken.

These two knew exactly how the other felt and sentences were unnecessary. They looked at one another, nodded, and went their own ways.

Hearts deserved to win their first significant prize for 36 years, even if the debate over referee Willie Young's decision to award a penalty after only 40 seconds continues to rage.

It doesn't matter either that Ally McCoist appeared to have been denied a penalty after he had been hauled down by David Weir inside Hearts' box late in the game because Rangers were spent.

They were, at 2-1 down, pressing Hearts ever deeper into their own territory and they did have considerably more shots at goal, but almost 49,000 supporters were witnessing the final writhings of a team which had grown too old.

Also, with Jorg Albertz and Jonas Thern out, Rangers' midfield was always going to be weak on creativity and so it proved. Ian Ferguson, Stuart McCall, and Rino Gattuso ran as hard as they could, but it takes more than endeavour.

Hearts' Steve Fulton and Stefano Salvatori helped give Hearts an edge in midfield and it was a burst forward from Fulton, captain in the absence of Gary Locke, which prompted Ferguson to bring him down and concede the penalty.

Colin Cameron thumped the ball into the net and Hearts fans began to believe.

When Stephane Adam took advantage of Lorenzo Amoruso's embarrassing attempt to deal with a high ball played into Rangers' area by Gilles Rousset and scored Hearts' second the party began. Even Locke and the other squad members who were left out were on their feet in the main stand.

Jose Quitongo was up holding aloft his baby son Jai, who was wearing the tiniest Hearts shirt and a huge maroon and white wig. An officious policeman at the mouth of the Celtic Park tunnel stupidly tried to prevent Locke and his group from getting on thepitch at the end of the match to join in the celebrations.

Yet, all around the ground fans were spilling on to the pitch and if the police had been doing their jobs properly the thug who had a go at a distraught Ally McCoist might have been prevented from getting near the players.

McCoist squared up to the intruder who was eventually dragged away by stewards. However, McCoist's day had already been ruined, even though he scored Rangers' goal nine minutes from time.

He had taken over at half time from Stale Stensaas, who had an awful game, but not even the legendary magic of McCoist could save Rangers this time, and so Hearts, assembled at a cost of pounds 850,000, were able to celebrate a wonderful triumph.

Jefferies had suffered often enough against Rangers but this time his team's performance was much more controlled and robust. They didn't surge forward allowing Rangers to hit them on the break and the cup win was as much a triumph for the awareness of Jefferies and his right-hand man Billy Brown.

Hearts were due their time in the sun and although ending their Ibrox reign empty handed left Smith and Archie Knox dejected, few could honestly grudge the Tynecastle side this success.

Their wait had been too long and they had suffered some crushing moments along the way.

However, taking hold of the Scottish Cup swept away all their heartache and gave them cause to believe this could be the start of a special era for Hearts.

The team is young and with players like Paul Ritchie and Gary Naysmith, both of whom played especially well, they should mature into an even stronger force perhaps capable of maintaining a Premier Division challenge.

Jefferies will need to add to his team if he wishes to go the distance in the league, but he will worry about that when his head clears, probably some time later this week.

While all of Hearts' people cavorted around Celtic Park the Rangers players were slumped on the turf and mainly silent. Their fans stayed behind to applaud them for their efforts, but the gratitude of the multitude was not for one day's work.

The fans were saying thank you for a decade of domestic success and as they stood in praise they also knew they were witnessing the end for the majority of Rangers' team.

Gough, McCoist, McCall, Goram, Durrant, Laudrup, and Cleland, who was suspended and had to suffer with the fans in the stand, won't be back at Ibrox as players and they found it difficult to hang around watching others take the winners' medals. Yet, they remained to applaud Hearts and also their supporters.

In fact, Gough and McCoist applauded Hearts' fans also and then the captain, who had congratulated every single one of his opponents, went around his

Some, of course, couldn't be helped but it was a dignified end for Gough who has presided over many triumphs but who also knows how to behave in defeat.

So, too, does his manager and Smith took his final bow in a refined manner even though his disappointment was acute. His fear from the beginning of this season was that he could end a glorious reign with nothing and, sadly for him, that is how it unfolded.

Before leaving Celtic Park he and Knox, who led Rangers out at the start of the match, took time to sit in the empty main stand and look out on the pitch. The place was silent now they were able to think about what they had achieved together at Ibrox before getting up and walking away into the unknown.

At least they know their places in the club's folklore are secured.

As for Jefferies, he too has won a place in his club's history, but he isn't finished with Hearts yet. So far as he is concerned the best is still to come.

Taken from the Daily Record