HEARTS’ Ladbrokes Premiership fixture against Partick Thistle will go ahead after the new main stand at Tynecastle Park was given the necessary safety certificate just 18 hours before kick-off.
City of Edinburgh Council officials carried out a final inspection of the new £14 million structure late last night and the capital club were finally given the green light to host Alan Archibald's side at 9pm.
The drama over whether the game would take place as scheduled had threatened to become farcical throughout Saturday as both clubs, the Scottish Professional Football League and supporters alike nervously waited to find out whether the fixture would be played.
Council officials were on site from 12 noon yesterday but, following an initial inspection, informed Hearts that work still had to be done in order to satisfy their safety regulations.
However, rather than call off Sunday’s match on the spot, owner Ann Budge consulted with her construction staff and judged that the necessary fixes could be made in time.
Builders were subsequently ordered to work into the night.
At 4 pm, Hearts’ Twitter account posted: “The club is continuing to work with Building Control with the aim of hosting tomorrow's Ladbrokes Premiership match against Partick Thistle. Further updates will follow in due course.”
Archibald had previously stated that the consequences of postponing the contest would be devastating to the Maryhill men, leaving them facing nine matches in a hectic December and accusing the Tynecastle club of prioritising money over fans.
The frustration emanating from Firhill was clear from midfielder Steven Lawless, who tweeted: “Any chance!!!! Not had to wait this late for confirmation of my game being on, since I was under 10s at Mill Utd.”
However, the main stand was finally declared safe last night, albeit Budge has already stated that the area around the stadium will be akin "to a building site".
Hearts will heave a sigh of relief that they have managed to get the game on – a feat which looked unlikely when they were presented with the results of an initial inspection on Monday – and avoid the possibility of sanctions from the SPFL.
Nevertheless, there will be questions asked regarding the protracted nature of the saga, the quality of communication between the parties and whether the SPFL should have been more decisive from the outset.
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