SPECIAL MOMENT
Hearts’ emotional Scottish Cup hero reveals tragic tale behind his touching tribute goal celebration live on TV
He had a heart-breaking decision to make
SANDER KARTUM has dedicated his Scottish Cup double to grandmother Ragnhild — after missing her funeral to send Hearts into the semi-finals.
The Norwegian midfielder, 29, decided to stay in Edinburgh rather than go home to say farewell alongside the rest of his family on Friday.
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Kartum opened the scoring against Dundee with a stunning strike into the top corner from 22 yards out.
He later added the Jambos’ decisive third with a wonderful finish using the outside of his left foot.
He then whipped off his shinpad to reveal a message to his gran — and admits he’ll always look back on the night as special.
He said: “It was important to me to get a good start so to get two goals in the game was pretty special.
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“When I celebrated it was to honour my grandmother Ragnhild, who died last week and it was her funeral on Friday.
“I missed it, I had to play the game, so I just wanted to honour her.
“It has been a tough time. She died last week so it was good to get the goals for her.
“My family were watching the game back home, so it was a very special moment.
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“My grandmother was a special person so it’s difficult to talk about, but I tried my best to honour her.”
Kartum arrived from SK Brann with the reputation of having a wicked left foot — and he more than proved it against the Dee.
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His first was a deft curling shot from 18 yards right into Trevor Carson’s top corner, while the second was arguably even better, given the level of technical ability required.
But the modest midfielder insists the only reason he didn’t take the shot with his right boot is that it’s simply for standing on.
He said: “We worked on it this week, especially on Monday and after training.
“I practised the shots against Zander Clark so I’m glad it worked in the game.
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“Of the two, my preference is for the first one, that was special because it’s my first goal for the club.
“It was a good speed of pass so I was able to control it into the top corner.
“For the second one, I tried to shoot through the legs of the defender.
“I don’t usually use my right foot so it was better to go with the outside of my left — thankfully it worked!”
Hearts booked their place at Hampden with a deserved win over the Dark Blues, and will now wait for the outcome of Monday night’s draw.
Kartum visited the national stadium in January to go through heart scans as part of his Jambos medical.
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But he can’t wait to get back there for a big-game experience.
He added: “Back in Norway I don’t think I played beyond the quarter-finals, so this will be the furthest I have been in a cup competition.”
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