AlexJones

It'd be incredibly harsh to drop him for the final considering he's played well in every round on the way there, and was the hero for the penalty shoot out.

Fatigue definitely setting in after our recent fixture congestion. It'd be madness to play a full team on Wednesday. Give Polworth, Williams, Christie, Greenhaugh, Pepper, Cooper etc a run out. Our first teamers will be freshened up, our fringe players get the boost from a run out. Win win. The cup final is 1,000 times more important than a regular league fixture.

I say stick it in the middle of Bught Park.

How long until someone starts a 'John Hughes linked with Manchester United' thread?

No way Victor Wanyama is 22.

Is anyone surprised? We all knew he wouldn't be afforded the same leeway or patience down there that he was up here. I still think he'll end up being successful though. It'll be interesting to see how he copes with the pressure, I think this could be his Achilles heel which explains why he did so well with a bankrupt Motherwell and us, and so badly with almost everyone else.

We should be trying to improve in EVERY position, not with a cheque book, but by developing the players we already have with hard work every day on the training pitch.

Seething.

Charlie giz a wave, Charlie Charlie giz a wave.... waaaaaaay!

I think a lot of the glory hunters who show up to support the team in the final will feel more than comfortable sitting in the Celtic home end.

Beaton had a howler on Sunday, but everyone has off days. He wasn't helped by the constant diving and feigning of injury by the Hearts players. Nor was he helped by the constant chorus of hysterical screams from the baying mob of mentally challenged fans in the home end claiming for every decision, no matter how ridiculous, through the entire 120 minutes. If he was guilty of anything, it was of being conned / influenced by those factors. Obviously a referee should be impervious to these things, but human nature is what it is. Who's to say that we would have scored the equaliser if Josh hadn't been sent off? The sequence of events which followed went our way. In a perfect world Warrens red would also be rescinded, he deserves to play in the final. But from a team point of view, Josh and Danny did a great job at Pittodrie and kept a clean sheet, so we can now go into the final full of confidence. Mr Beaton deserves a stern talking to, but no more than that.

A lot of over-sensitive drama queens on the internets IMO. Can't believe people are so spiteful to demand he loses his job, or even want him arrested by the police. The world's gone mad. If you don't like the illiterate musings of a thick, young footballer and his thick mates, nobody is forcing you to read them. Get a grip. I personally couldn't care less. The idea that because he is a footballer, he has no right to offend anyone, is a nonsense.

Where's the announcement?

Liam Keoghs spectacular late volley against Clyde which got us into the SPL for me.

Old Trafford for me.

Very impressed with the way Nick Ross stays on his feet there, even with 3 players trying to foul him. Every Hearts player on the pitch would have gone down claiming for a penalty and a yellow card.

Good to see Hearts fans magnanimous in defeat. www.hmfckickback.co.uk/index.php?/topic/137220-ict-fans/

Brill Raven Devine Draper Tremarco Foran Watkins Vincent Shinnie Ross McKay

Agree with previous comment about 9 men beating 12. Every time a Hearts player fell over they were awarded a free kick. Every time the Hearts fans squeeled we had a man booked or sent off. Shocking display from the home referee. With 11 men we didn't really play to our potential, but when we went down to 9 the remaining players became almost super human. Hughes got the substitutions spot on. Nick Ross had the best game of his career. He was the difference maker IMO. McKay took on the entire Hearts back 4 by himself and came away with the ball most of the time. Draper, Devine, Shinnie and Tremarco were absolute rocks at the back. What a performance. Deano commanding the box under pressure and saving 2 out of 4 penalties. A performance for the history books! When we lost the semi last season our confidence never really recovered, hopefully this result has the opposite effect and gives us a shot in the arm!

So much for rules eh? What a coincidence that they're allowed to bring a striker in on loan JUST IN TIME to play us in the semis 2 years in a row. It obviously wasn't enough to give them home advantage, or to make the kick off time as inconvenient for Inverness fans as possible. Pretty obvious to me who the SPFL want in the final.

Is it just me, or does anybody else have a nagging feeling that we are destined to fall short, as usual? I've lost count of the number of big games we've gone into full of confidence over the years, and completely bottled. I've almost come to expect it. The fact that its Hearts, at the same stage, at the same venue, and we are huge favourites again, just seems ominous.

About time that lot actually did something. Would be nice to have some more local derby games.

I was one of the moaners when Hughes got the job, but its time to give the man a break.

Think the biggest threat to us next week will be red cards. Hearts players are coached to throw themselves to the ground and feign injury, and with 15,000 screaming jambos in the stands baying for our players to be booked or sent off for every challenge, this might not be the ideal game for the likes of Tremarco and Draper.

I agree with Yogi's meritocratic philosophy. If he had put all the regular first teamers straight back in, and we'd gone on to lose, everyone would be complaining - why change a winning team that performed so brilliantly the week before? The reserve players who came in and did such a good job last week earned their starting places today. What's the point in giving young players a chance if they subsequently lose their place in the team no matter how well they play? I would have named the same starting 11 as last week. Warren's form has dipped as the season has gone on. Devine played very well last week and our back 4 was rock solid.