Hearts 1 Gretna 1: Gordon ends the fairytale for Gretna

Hearts round off a topsy-turvy season with their first Scottish Cup victory since 1998 as Second Division minnows' dream is cruelly ended by the trauma of a penalty shoot-out

A fairytale with a cruel twist. Gretna's remarkable bid to win the Scottish Cup ended in tears yesterday as Craig Gordon broke the Second Division club's hearts in the penalty shoot-out to hand the trophy to Heart of Midlothian. The Scotland goalkeeper saved kicks from Derek Townsley and Gavin Skelton to win a dramatic final. "The lads are in tears but they did us proud," declared Brooks Mileson, Gretna's owner.

The teams were dragged to the penalty duel after an epic contest, with neither side flinching in extra time, though Hearts' best player, Paul Hartley, foolishly got himself sent off for incurring two yellow cards at the death.

Hearts looked as if they were going to lift the trophy they last held in 1998 when Rudi Skacel put them ahead, but Ryan McGuffie prolonged the dream when he equalised on 75 minutes, rifling in a rebound after Gordon parried his penalty. Nerves were taut in extra time. Michal Pospisil set up Skacel in the 95th minute, only for his Czech compatriot to crash his left-foot shot against the post.

Gretna's run all the way to the final - the first team from the third tier in Scotland to do so - commanded all the attention beforehand. The tiny club brought 12,500 fans with them and they roared their approval as manager Rowan Alexander, dressed in a kilt, walked his Second Division champions out of the tunnel.

Hearts sensed that this was the perfect end to a roller coaster season in which their owner, Vladimir Romanov, had sacked two managers but still managed to qualify for the Champions' League. That, of course, meant that Gretna will take the Uefa Cup passport that is the reward for this competition.

The optimism of the 35,000 Hearts fans inside the stadium looked vindicated after the early period in which they subjected Gretna to fierce pressure. Alan Main, the Gretna goalkeeper, held Skacel's shot before Roman Bednar steered a header wide. However, Gretna weathered the storm and gained a foothold in the contest.

Gordon's display of nerves encouraged Alexander's team but the Hearts goalkeeper atoned when he produced a stunning save in the 23rd minute to touch Skelton's free-kick over the bar, and McGuffie's header suggested the script might yet be torn up. Seven minutes before the interval, though, Gretna were finally broken.

Robbie Neilson's long throw-in fell for Skacel at the back of the six-yard box and he angled a shot beyond Main to an explosion of joy and relief from the maroon hordes.

Yet if you thought that Gretna's spirit was broken, nothing could have been further from the truth.

They probed at Hearts in the second half and Alexander withdrew David Nicholls and brought on David Graham, a young, eager forward. Graham thought he was about to equalise in the 67th minute when he rounded Gordon and was just about to pull the trigger when Neilson raced back to poke the ball away.

However, Gretna would not be denied. They finally earned their reward 15 minutes from time when John O'Neil was barged by Deividas Cesnauskis in the box and a penalty was awarded.

McGuffie placed his kick to Gordon's right only to see the goalkeeper parry the ball, but the midfielder pounced on the rebound and drilled it into the net to uncork manic celebrations and allow the further drama of extra time to unfold.