Former Hearts star Dario Zanatta is looking to cause a bit of a stir when his old club visits Hamilton in the Scottish Cup fifth round tonight.
Canadian forward Zanatta, 25, helped Accies beat Queen of the South 2-1 on Tuesday to reach the SPFL Trust Trophy final against former club Raith Rovers in March.
Zanatta’s looking to do well in two cup competitions this year and though he left Tynecastle on good terms, he’s looking to prove a few people wrong at Hearts.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it.
“It’s nice to see some familiar faces. They’re the third-biggest club in Scotland for a reason, they’ve had a really good season.
“But we showed against Ross County in the last round that we’re capable of performing against Premiership opposition and we’re definitely looking for an upset on Friday night.
“I don’t have hard feelings; I’d like to have played a few more games for them and if I can prove maybe one or two people wrong there that would be nice.
“But I’m more worried about just playing well for the team and hopefully we can cause a little bit of a stir.”
Zanatta scored his third goal of the season to give Accies the lead against Marvin Bartley’s League One side on Tuesday night and though he feels the game should have been more comfortable, Ryan One bagged an extra-time winner.
Having won the final with Raith Rovers last season he hopes to now pip the Kirkcaldy club to the trophy this time around.
He said: “It’s another final. I had a word with Reghan Tumilty, who has just signed and who was at Raith with me last year, so we must be good luck or something to be back in the final.
“It’s a boost for the whole club to get to the final. It gives a nice day out for the fans, and hopefully we can make it a memorable one for them.
“It takes the tension away from the league games a little bit and the cup games have been something that all the boys have been looking forward to.
“It’s not often that you get the chance to play in cup finals, and with where we are in the league, it’s probably the most realistic cup that we have a chance to be in the later stages of.”
On his own role in the semi-final, Zanatta said: “I’ve not been as prolific as I would like to be at the club, but one goal like that helps.
“A little deflection means it comes to me and I put it away, so it’s good for the confidence and I’ll be looking forward to Friday.
“The win should have been more comfortable – being in a winning position late in the second half you’d like to hold out, but we showed good character.
“In extra-time we showed that we’re fit and everyone played their part.
“In those types of games it’s about getting to the next round and we’re happy to do that.”
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