The banner in the Gorgie Road end of Tynecastle was ready, waiting to be unfurled as the tense, nervy final minutes ticked away. Hearts supporters are becoming reacquainted with these emotions on a weekly basis, the intensity sharpening now as winter turns to spring. Even today, on a grey, sodden afternoon where Aberdeen offer virtually nothing after falling behind to Claudio Braga’s first-half opener, the sense of what is at stake is never far from the surface: when Aberdeen’s Stuart Armstrong goes down in the box in the 83rd minute, having brushed past a Hearts challenge, there is a dramatic intake of breath. Hearts, though, survive.
Then it sinks in. It’s the final day of February and Hearts have gone seven points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. A day later, over in Glasgow, Rangers and Celtic play out a chaotic 2-2 draw at Ibrox. Their advantage is trimmed back to six, but with the Old Firm clubs both dropping points and looking vulnerable in a game of two distinct halves, Hearts are announced as the afternoon’s only winners. As the banner at Tynecastle proudly declared just as the referee’s final whistle blew: “Nine to go… Believe!”
