Players experiencing complete silence in the few seconds before stepping up to strike a penalty between the posts isn’t uncommon in this part of Edinburgh.
However, it’s the kind of thing which is normally reserved for Finn Russell down the road at Murrayfield rather than Lawrence Shankland at Tynecastle.
In rugby, fans do it as a mark of respect for the kicker.
Football supporters are a bit different. Etiquette doesn’t really come into the equation on the rare occasions they go quiet. It’s a sign of pure fear and nothing else.
You could have heard a pin drop at Tynecastle on Saturday as Shankland began his run-up to take one of the most important penalties of his career.
The noise that erupted when the ball found the back of the net to give Hearts a late lead over Motherwell and keep their title dream alive was something else.
When things aren’t going right, Tynecastle can be a hellish place to be for the players. But there is a different feeling about the place this season.
Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland lets out all the raw emotion after his crucial penalty kick
This crowd has helped get them over the line countless times during this extraordinary title charge, and they more than played their part again at the weekend.
Even when Emmanuel Longelo tapped home to put the visitors in front five minutes after the restart, there was no sense of panic in the stands.
Instead, there is complete trust that this group of players have it in them to respond. And considering Hearts have yet to taste defeat in the league at home this season, you can understand their confidence.
Derek McInnes’ men have Rangers and Falkirk to come here after the split, with trips to Easter Road, Fir Park and Celtic Park also on the agenda.
Having taken just one point from 12 on offer on the road of late, collecting a maximum haul at Tynecastle is simply non-negotiable. If they can do that and pick up one win on their travels, you suspect that might be enough.
Easier said than done, of course. But it’s a realistic target.
What McInnes would give to have an extra home tie after the split to look forward to.
‘Tynecastle’s brilliant now,’ he said post-match. ‘I love it. It’s special.’
Tynecastle went silent as Shankland prepared for the late spot-kick, with the tension palpable
You wouldn’t have known that, mind you, given the way he prowled the touchline at the weekend. It took less than 10 seconds for him to give the fourth official an earful.
That set the tone for a tense afternoon both on and off the park.
The players were edgy for the best part of an hour. In stark contrast to their opponents, everything about Hearts appeared rushed.
Had Motherwell shown a cutting edge after going one up, this could have been a disaster for the league leaders.
Longelo somehow failed to hit the target from close range, before Elijah Just skewed wide from 12 yards with the goal gaping.
Tawanda Maswanhise then left Craig Halkett for dead and Oisin McEntee on his backside on his way into the area. After doing all the hard work, the league’s top scorer dragged his effort wide with just the keeper to beat. It was an inexplicable miss from a man who is capable of far better.
Motherwell will be kicking themselves for not taking something from the contest.
In the space of a month, Jens Berthel Askou’s men have gone from a side being tipped as title contenders to one now clinging on to fourth spot ahead of Hibs.
Claudio Braga had hauled Hearts level as the league leaders overcame adversity yet again
They were the better team here for long spells. As is so often the case, Just was at the heart of it. The New Zealander was a joy to watch throughout.
We’re now in mid-April, and not one team has worked out how to stop him finding pockets of space and dictating things. He makes it look effortless. In truth, it will take a miracle for Motherwell to keep hold of him.
Those in maroon, meanwhile, made hard work of this. But they deserve immense credit for getting the job done. That’s what champions tend to do.
Claudio Braga — just as he did when these sides met in a 3-3 thriller back in August — sparked the comeback with an instinctive overhead kick.
With time trickling away, the safe option would have been to shut up shop, take the point, and write it off as a bad day at the office. Not a bit of it.
With Shankland and Braga up front, Hearts have two match-winners at their disposal. The pair have scored 27 Premiership goals between them this season, but they offer far more than that.
Braga — in the nicest possible way — is a complete pest, while Shankland has become a true talisman of this team.
The skipper, by his own admission, was below par against the Steelmen. But when it came to the crunch moment, he was the calmest man in Gorgie.
His penalty was awarded following a lengthy VAR check for a foul by Stephen Welsh on substitute Pierre Landry Kabore. The defender caught him on the back of the head as the front man fell to the ground, but Askou was furious.
On one hand, you could argue that Kabore — who netted the third to round off an impressive cameo off the bench — put himself in harm’s way. But there’s no doubt Welsh was careless.
It remains to be seen how important a decision it could prove to be.
