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Craig Gordon driven by records and proving doubters wrong as Hearts legend eyes next milestone against Rangers
Another milestone reached - two more within touching distance.
Hitting the 300 games mark for Hearts might have seemed a million miles away for Craig Gordon when he spent two years out with a knee injury over a decade ago and again when he suffered a horrifying double leg break in 2022. But the Jambos keeper insists he is driven by breaking records - and proving the doubters wrong. The 41-year-old celebrated his 300th appearance for his boyhood heroes in Thursday’s Europa Conference League defeat to Heidenheim.
Should he keep a clean sheet against Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday it will be the 100th shut out of his Tynecastle career which has spanned 12 years across two spells. And if he starts for Scotland against Croatia on Friday, Gordon will go clear in fifth place of the nation’s most capped players of all time on 78.
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It’s been a remarkable journey for the goalkeeper who grew up watching Hearts on the terraces before first joining the ground staff in 1999. But it’s not over yet. Not by a long shot. He said: “No it’s all motivation and all something to aim for. Any little extra pieces of motivation I will take and strive to get there.
“I’ve probably been written off a few times with the injuries I’ve had. But keeping proving people wrong is a big motivation in itself. I think everyone has to keep doing that in their career. That’s what it’s like. You have to keep coming back and proving yourself in every game. It’s something I enjoy.
“It’s nice to get to 300. It’s a great achievement. Three hundred appearances for one club is a lot, especially these days. And more than I could ever have imagined when I first came through these doors in October 1999 on the ground staff.
“It’s not an easy place to play that number of games. If you’re going to play at that level in front of this crowd you’re going to have to do something pretty good. It’s a special one and was something after coming back from the leg break that I set as a target to achieve.
“I saw the 100 clean sheets mentioned. I was hoping it would be nice to tie those both up against Heidenheim and at half time it looked like we were the stronger team. But it wasn’t to be. I will keep that one going for a little longer and hopefully I can get it soon”
There’s still 37 other names ahead of Gordon in the all-time maroon appearances pecking order - including his boyhood idol Henry Smith who played 598 times for the Jambos in 15 years.
Smith played his last professional match at the age of 46. But even if Gordon, who turns 42 next month, went on for another four years he knows he’ll get nowhere near his Tynecastle tally. He said: “Times running out on reeling those guys in! It’s just great to be in that company.
“Guys like Gary Mackay, Henry Smith who were people I watched playing for Hearts towards the end of their career. I even managed to play a game against Henry before he finally hung up his gloves because he had played on so long.
“I see Henry now and again. He comes with his grandson and I see him in the Main Stand sometimes when we are warming up. Every time we meet up or we’re at a function he still reminds me he has a few more records on me - I’m probably not going to catch his appearance one. He can have that one to keep!”
The result might not have been what he wanted for his landmark night but Gordon will cherish the memory. He’ll need to - because he never even got to keep either of his TWO shirts from the night with Heidenheim’s Kevin Muller grabbing a memento.
He said: “The other goalie took it coming off the pitch. You get two but the other one goes to MatchWornShirts - someone can bid on that. I might buy my own back!”
