For a generation of Hearts supporters, the mere mention of Dens Park in casual conversation provokes an involuntary shudder.
Those of a certain age who will once again make the journey up the A92 this weekend still bear the scars of a painful conclusion to an extraordinary title challenge by the Gorgie club 40 years ago.
As Derek McInnes and his players continue their own bid to become Scottish champions, they will hope this weekend’s assignment at Dens is simply another positive step forward on their impressive journey this season.
On that fateful afternoon of May 3, 1986, it turned into a graveyard for the dreams of those bedecked in maroon who packed out the old uncovered terracing at the east end of the stadium.
It was the day the previously unheralded name of Albert Kidd claimed an indelible place in the Scottish football lexicon and sparked wild and unanticipated celebrations for Celtic supporters 90 miles away in Paisley.
Albert Kidd celebrates after scoring Dundee’s opener against Hearts at Dens Park in May 1986
Disconsolate Hearts boss Alex MacDonald leaves the field after losing 2-0 to Dundee
Hearts have seldom looked better placed to heal those old wounds and smash the Old Firm duopoly of the title which has been in place ever since.
There is no doubt this 2025-26 campaign has already established itself as one of the most dramatic, unpredictable and often downright madcap seasons the game in this country has ever known.
Yet it was certainly rivalled for plot-twists and profound events in 1985-86. Daily Mail Sport looks back on a season forever etched in the consciousness of Hearts, Celtic and Rangers fans for very different reasons, culminating in a bonkers and bewildering last seven minutes at Dens Park.
Hearts surgery
Since claiming only the fourth Scottish league title of their history in 1960, Hearts were a club in steady decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Relegated from the Premier Division for a third time in five years in 1981, they were drifting aimlessly both on and off the pitch.
The seeds of change were sewn with the arrival of two key figures that year. In May, flamboyant businessman Wallace Mercer secured a controlling interest in the club. In December, Mercer sacked Tony Ford as manager and lured Alex MacDonald from Rangers to become player-boss.
Mercer’s vision, energy and boundless enthusiasm provided the platform for MacDonald, along with his assistant and fellow Ibrox legend Sandy Jardine, to restore pride and purpose at Tynecastle.
After securing promotion in 1983, MacDonald and Jardine oversaw respectable fifth and seventh placed finishes in Hearts’ first two seasons back in the top flight which also saw them qualify for Europe for the first time in almost a decade.
Hearts owne Wallace Mercer addresses fans after their final-day loss to Dundee
Homegrown midfielder Gary Mackay was a key player for Hearts in 1985-86
Shrewd recruitment saw talented younger players such as defender Craig Levein, midfielder Gary Mackay and striker John Robertson complemented by older hands who had been deemed surplus to requirements by the Old Firm.
Among them were former Celtic winger John Colquhoun and ex-Rangers striker Sandy Clark who both thrived upon the roles and responsibilities given to them by MacDonald.
While Hearts had firmly re-established themselves as a Premier Division side when the 1985-86 season rolled around, however, no-one regarded them as potential champions. Certainly not the bookies who installed them as 200-1 shots, with title holders Aberdeen the favourites ahead of Celtic, Dundee United and Rangers.
A stuttering start
In the first two months of the season, Hearts did their best to make that 200-1 price appear positively miserly.
They won just two of their first nine league games, their five defeats in that sequence including a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of St Mirren at Love Street which suggested they were likely candidates for a relegation battle.
Back to back losses away to Motherwell and Clydebank at the end of September did nothing to dispel that notion.
In the era of two points for a win, Hearts found themselves third bottom of the table after being held 1-1 at home to Dundee on October 5. They were eight points off the pace being set by leaders Celtic who also had a game in hand.
No-one could have anticipated that the draw against the Dark Blues would be the start of an astonishing unbeaten run of 31 games which would lead them to the brink of glory in both the Premier Division and Scottish Cup.
A week later, the tide really began to turn when Hearts travelled to Celtic Park. The only goal of the game came in the 33rd minute when Colquhoun and Clark combined to set up a chance which the predatory Robertson dispatched beyond Pat Bonner.
Wallace Mercer appointed Alex MacDonald as manager of Hearts in 1981
It was a victory which sent confidence surging through the Hearts squad. At the end of October, they beat league leaders Aberdeen 1-0 at Tynecastle to move just four points behind Alex Ferguson’s side.
Free of suspensions and injuries which had hampered them in the early weeks of the campaign, MacDonald and Jardine were now able to name a largely unchanged side most weeks.
Firmly in the groove, Hearts’ burgeoning form was exemplified by a 3-0 skewering of Rangers at Tynecastle in November. Clark haunted his old club with a double and Robertson completed the scoring which scarcely did justice to Hearts’ superiority.
It was a landmark day for Jardine, a month shy of his 37th birthday, who made his 1000th senior appearance almost 20 years after making his debut for Rangers. His class and composure in defence was undimmed by the passing of time.
On December 21, Hearts gave their supporters a perfect early Christmas present. A hard-earned 1-0 win at Love Street, avenging the heavy loss there back in August, took them to the top of the Premier Division for the first time since the top flight was rebranded by league reconstruction in 1975.
With a 2-0 victory at Ibrox seven days later followed by an emphatic 3-1 derby win over Hibs at Tynecastle on New Year’s Day, Hearts roared into 1986 looking every inch potential champions.
Seismic season
If Hearts were the headline act of 1985-86, they certainly weren’t the only story in town.
Scottish football was shaken and stirred by some of the most significant events and developments it has ever experienced.
On September 10, at the end of Scotland’s crucial 1-1 draw against Wales in a World Cup qualifier in Cardiff, manager Jock Stein collapsed and died.
Alex Ferguson, his assistant, agreed to take charge for the remainder of the campaign and a play-off win against Australia secured Scotland’s place in the 1986 finals in Mexico.
David Holmes introduces Graeme Souness as the new player-manager of Rangers
For the Scotland captain Graeme Souness, who had been reduced to tears by Stein’s passing in the Ninian Park tunnel, it was a life-changing year.
In April, the door of the Blue Room at Ibrox swung open and Souness was introduced as the new player-manager of Rangers by the club’s visionary supremo David Holmes who had spearheaded businessman Lawrence Marlborough’s takeover five months earlier. Rangers were about to embark on an ambitious new strategy which would leave their rivals gasping for breath.
For the moment, however, Hearts were ruling the roost. The week before Souness was unveiled, they enjoyed another dominant win over Rangers at Tynecastle in what proved to be Jock Wallace’s last competitive game in charge of the Ibrox side.
Another double for Robertson and a late goal from Clark secured the 3-1 victory which left Hearts five points clear at the top of the table with four matches left to play. Although the chasing pack of Dundee United, Aberdeen and Celtic all had games in hand, they were firmly in the driving seat.
Hearts fans were now dreaming of a double as Colquhoun’s goal at Hampden on April 5 settled a tense Scottish Cup semi-final against United. When the same opponents were swept aside 3-0 at Tannadice a week later in arguably Hearts’ finest display of the season, they appeared unstoppable.
The first signs of nerves appeared when a Colquhoun strike three minutes from time salvaged a point at home to Aberdeen in what was the first league match ever to be televised live in Scotland on April 20.
Hearts were equally unconvincing against Clydebank at Tynecastle in their penultimate league fixture a week later but the 1-0 win was enough to keep their fate in their own hands. Destiny awaited them at Dens Park.
Tears for souvenirs
There was also a possibility Hearts could be crowned champions while sitting in their living rooms if Celtic failed to take maximum points from a rescheduled midweek game against Motherwell at Fir Park on April 30.
Controversy surrounded the fixture with mixed messages from the Scottish League and SFA over whether the key Celtic trio of Roy Aitken, Paul McStay and Murdo MacLeod would be allowed to miss Scotland’s final World Cup warm-up match against Holland in Eindhoven the previous day.
After initial suggestions Celtic’s game in hand could be further delayed, their players pulled out of the Scotland squad and helped Davie Hay’s side beat Motherwell 2-0 to take the title race to the wire.
It was a seventh consecutive victory for Celtic who were unbeaten in the league since January, overhauling both Aberdeen and Dundee United to remain as Hearts’ only challengers.
Two points behind, the odds were still stacked against them as they needed Hearts to lose at Dens Park and also engineer a goal difference swing of four in their favour by beating St Mirren at Love Street.
For MacDonald and his squad, it proved to be a sickening afternoon in more ways than one. A flu bug had struck several Hearts players, forcing Craig Levein to miss out completely and others to play despite being under the weather.
Shellshocked Hearts players take centre after Albert Kidd had wrecked their title chances
Hearts started brightly enough and were denied a strong penalty claim in the opening exchanges when Clark went down under a challenge from Dundee defender Colin Hendry. Ref Bill Crombie, an Edinburgh man, wasn’t interested.
Wearing a silvery-grey away shirt, Hearts were increasingly off-colour and out of sorts as the match progressed but still looked capable of grinding out the point which would be enough to become champions.
News that Celtic were ripping St Mirren apart, leading 4-0 at half-time, did nothing to soothe the nerves of the Hearts players.
Dundee had an incentive of their own, knowing a win would see them snatch a UEFA Cup place if Rangers failed to beat Motherwell at Ibrox that day.
Manager Archie Knox turned to his bench, replacing Tosh McKinlay with Albert Kidd. The journeyman forward had been a fringe player all season with his only previous goal of the campaign coming in a League Cup defeat against Hamilton Accies back in August.
Boyhood Celtic fan Kidd had knocked on Knox’s office door after training the day before the Hearts match, pleading to be involved. His request was granted and the rest is history.
With seven minutes left, Kidd forced a corner on the right. Robert Connor swung it in, Jim Duffy flicked on and Kidd smashed the ball high past Henry Smith.
Hearts fans are left in tears after Kidd’s double ended their title bid and handed the crown to Celtic
Hearts were broken. Four minutes later, the rampant Kidd played a one-two with Graham Harvey and beat Smith again.
At the final whistle, some of the shell-shocked Hearts fans invaded the pitch, some of them slumping to the turf in tears. In Paisley, there were only tears of joy for Celtic and their fans as they learned their 5-0 romp had snatched the title away from the long-time leaders.
There would also be no silver lining for MacDonald and his men a week later when they lost 3-0 to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden.
‘The whole season belonged to Hearts’, said a magnanimous Dons boss Alex Ferguson. ‘It is a real shame they have won nothing’.
While they subsequently flirted with title challenges in 1998 and 2006, Hearts have never been closer than they were in 1986.
Derek McInnes’ squad can change that in 2026. Hearts fans will just hope Dundee fail to make to the top six and spare them any possibility of a last day fixture at Dens Park.
