Scottish Cup final: Hearts' Stephen Kingsley on injury frustration, penalty woe & team unity

Stephen Kingsley scored a stunning goal in the semi-final victory over Hibs

Stephen Kingsley's baptism as a Hearts player was all fire and brimstone, the raw intensity of an Edinburgh derby - he won - and the attritional 2020 Scottish Cup final against Celtic - he scored one goal, assisted on another, missed a penalty in a shoot-out and lost - in the early months of his new life in Scotland.

So, if Rangers are driven by the memory of Wednesday in Seville and that desperately painful loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, they should know that they are not the only ones who may be fuelled by flashbacks from disappointments past.

Kingsley is one of those other guys; bang in form and bang up for this Hampden showpiece.

"When I look back to 2020, it was a strange day all in," he says. "I had just joined the club, there was no crowd because of Covid, we were 2-0 down and going nowhere and then we came out in the second half and pulled it back.

"I got a goal and a wee assist, but the way it ended was awful. Three-three and then a loss on penalties. The penalty is going to live with me.

"Some guys are nervous taking them, some are composed. I was confident. I was hitting them well in training all week. I don't know. Maybe it was just tiredness, or whatever, but I didn't connect with it the way I wanted to and [Conor Hazard] saved it.

"You can't focus on it, but I'm so glad we have another opportunity coming up, which will be even bigger with the fans there. It'll feel like a really big occasion this time. This could be some game on Saturday."

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Hearts have had a strong season and Kingsley has been a totem for this team, in defence and attack. He's scored seven times, some of them absolute pearlers from free-kicks or free-kick routines, as was the case in the semi-final against Hibs.

What a thing of beauty his strike was. "Sometimes they just come off, don't they?" he says, modestly.

At 27, these are the best years of his career. Maybe there's a frustration that a run in the international team hasn't happened for him, but when you have Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney in your place then what chance do you have?

He has to be on the cusp of some action in Scotland's marathon year, though. With so many games to play, Kingsley will surely feature at some point.

It's been quite a turnaround for the full-back reared in the Falkirk system. Since joining Hearts, he's played 66 games, which is more than he played for Hull City and Swansea City in the previous four seasons combined.

Injuries dogged him, his hips mostly. Then his mind came under attack. The vulnerability of a player who isn't able to play is written all over his story.

"I had been at Hull, but I was plagued by injuries," he explains. "It was tough. One step forwards and then two steps back. I'd play and the problem would flare up again and I'd be out for two months. When I did play, I didn't feel I did as well as I know I can do - then it becomes this cycle that's hard to break and it gets on top of you, it really does.

"When you are a professional footballer, you're supposed to be playing football and, when you're not playing, what are you? You're trying to get back to where you were and you can't do it because of this uncertainty. It's a mental challenge just as much as a physical challenge.

"I spoke to some great people to get myself through it, not even professional people but people I felt comfortable around and who I could get things off my chest in front of. I opened up and it helped. It can be friends, family, anybody you trust, but I'd advise players to do that. Talk things through.

"Everybody goes through times when you're injured and not playing. It's an extreme environment we live in and it's not easy. Lots of boys have issues. I know so many boys who are speaking to people now and saying that they're finding it difficult. Thankfully, confiding in somebody is a lot more accepted now than it probably was before."

A Scottish Cup win would be the pinnacle of his life in football. Is the fact Rangers lost in Seville a plus or not? They'll be tired for sure, but they'll be ferociously determined to salvage a trophy from the season. Beware a wounded animal and all of that.

Plus, Hearts have not fared well against Rangers this season; one draw and three defeats, one by 5-0 and the most recent by 3-1 to Rangers B. That was last Saturday.

"You're angry every time you have a bad performance and that was a bad performance," Kingsley says. "We hold ourselves to certain standards and we weren't anywhere near them last time.

"This is the best changing room I've ever been in, though. All the staff have bred this great togetherness among the boys and that's shown this season. Any dips and disappointments, we've always come back well from them.

"There's a great unity here. There's no cliques and everyone is pushing in the same direction.

"I think the Hearts fans can see that. I'd never actually played in front of them before joining - I played against them for Falkirk but never at Tynecastle. It's a fantastic time to be a Hearts fan, not just because we had a good league season or because we're in the cup final but also because we have these guaranteed European nights next season. We have one last push now.

"The fans will hold their own at Hampden. It'll be half and half in the stands and we're going in knowing that we can win this if we play to our best form. We know how good Rangers are. It's a tough ask, but it's also a brilliant opportunity. I've not won a major trophy in my career. It would be incredible. Just incredible."

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