Hearts enjoy last laugh on Stoke City fans as 'Scotland get battered' chant backfires again

Hearts continued Scotland's long tradition of getting battered everywhere they go by *checks notes* beating Stoke City on Saturday.

Scotland international Lawrence Shankland bagged a double for the Scottish Premiership side in a 2-1 victory at Tynecastle in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Much like Peter Wright, who was comprehensively battered on his way to winning the PDC World Darts Championship earlier this year, and the Scotland's men's national team, battered in holding Euro 2020 finalists England, there can simply be no way back for Robbie Neilson's side after this.

All joking aside, is there a more cursed chant in all sport these days? Nobody's expecting, or asking for, gentle cordiality between rival fans but perhaps its time for this one to be put to pasture. The Stoke support could be heard goading their hosts with it in Gorgie on Saturday afternoon and reports of odds on a Hearts victory tumbling from the moment it rose up from the away are, I'm sure, purely coincidental.

Quite why they seemed so disgruntled near full-time when adding another battering to Scotland's shameful recent history is a real mystery. Perhaps it had something to do with Shankland's double making it a testimonial day to remember for club legend Gary Locke.

The Hearts hero enjoyed a memorable testimonial day, soaking up the atmosphere with his family before taking in another pre-season win for his beloved Hearts.

In completely unrelated news, Celtic beat Norwich City 2-0 on Saturday and Premier League and Serie A-winning manager Antonio Conte delivered a glowing verdict on Europa League finalists Rangers after his Tottenham edged them out 2-1 at Ibrox.