PERIPHERAL vision, which allows us to see objects out of the corners of our eyes, involves the use of photoreceptors called rods congregated at the sides of our retinas rather than the more sensitive cones in the centre.
The drawback is that these rods are insensitive to colours, in particular reds and greens. Thus, on a dark and wet afternoon in Edinburgh, it required more than a quick sideways glance to differentiate between a man clad in deep maroon and one wearing the dark green and black of the Hunting Stewart tartan.
All of which explains the looks of incredulity that came over the faces of Hearts and Raith Rovers players on several occasions throughout this encounter as they delivered inch-perfect sideways passes to what they had believed to be team-mates only to realise, when turning their heads further, that they were opponents.
The confusion was an unintended consequence of the pre-match decision by referee Crawford Allan to allow the visitors to wear the colours of the 16th Royal Scots, otherwise known as McCrae's Battalion, which had been raised 100 years previously and whose ranks had included 15 Hearts players and seven from Raith.
Thankfully, the handful of misplaced passes did not influence the outcome. They were a price worth paying for a poignant and emotional prologue that allowed fitting tribute to be paid to the 10 players - seven from Hearts, three from Raith - killed in action while serving with the British Army during the First World War.
Players from both sides intermingled as a lone piper played Flowers of the Forest, the lament for fallen soldiers. Then, for 60 seconds, silence fell over a packed Tynecastle, broken only by a steady drum roll of rain on the stadium's metalwork.
After standing still in the frigid downpour for several minutes, the players could have been excused a slow start. Instead, Hearts came out of the blocks at a sprint. Following his incredible 40-yard equaliser in the recent Edinburgh derby, every touch by defender Alim Ozturk in the opening moments was greeted in jest by shouts of "Shoot!" from the home support.
After only four minutes the Turk decided to try his luck again, this time from a mere 35 yards. Raith goalkeeper David McGurn seemed well positioned to parry his powerful effort to safety yet the ball skidded off his gloves and into the net.
It was a moment of despair for McGurn but one that his Hearts counterpart, Neil Alexander, sought to excuse afterwards. He said: "I have real sympathy for David because Alim's shot was swerving all over the place. With the rain, too, it was a keeper's nightmare."
It was, though, a dream start for Hearts and, for a short while at least, they looked capable of giving their opponents the runaround due to the clever movement of Billy King, Jamie Walker and Sam Nicholson. The youthful trio interchanged positions in the spaces behind Soufian El Hassnaoui, centre-forward in the absence of the injured Osman Sow.
Before long, however, the home team's momentum had been blunted by a combination of Raith's defensive diligence and a series of meaty sliding tackles that referee Allan seemed loath to discourage with the sanction of yellow cards. In the long pauses between goalmouth action the 16,373 spectators could have read all 100 pages of the commemorative programme.
After the break the visitors tested the resolve of the Hearts back line and the nerves of their supporters. The Fife side were emboldened 12 minutes from time when Hearts were reduced to 10 men as left-back Adam Eckersley hobbled off with a painful hip injury shortly after his manager, Robbie Nielson, had committed his third substitute to the fray.
As squeals of panic from the stands increased in volume, Raith substitute Mark Stewart and team-mate Liam Fox both came close so that the final whistle was almost drowned out by sighs of relief from Hearts fans.
The victory keeps Hearts four points ahead of Rangers at the top of the SPFL Championship table, with the two sides to meet at Tynecastle on November 22. "We're only thinking about going to Falkirk next Saturday," Alexander added.
It was not a day to think too far ahead. After all, the message on the front of those special Raith jerseys implored us to "Remember" John Allan, James Boyd, Duncan Currie, Ernest Ellis, Alexander Lyon, James Speedie and Henry Wattie, Jimmy Todd, Jimmy Scott and George McLay.
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