Alexandros Kyziridis delivered on the pitch with his injury-time winner for Hearts, now it is over to his wife to deliver as the couple are due to have a baby in October. The baby will be born in Scotland.
The 24-year-old, Greek born winger, has proved a it with fans since his arrival on a three-year deal, even if some struggle to say his name. Alex the Greek is a favoured short-cut for some.
And his stock rose dramatically when he calmly slotted from the left at the rain-soaked House of the Set Fare Arena to see off dogged Livingston last weekend.
It was his first goal for the club after four matches, and, overall, he has also assisted in two other strikes, including the equalising goal at Almondvale.
The Skydra-born player admitted he was “so happy” after side footing the ball past Jerome Prior in the first minute of added time and he celebrated with the fans behind the Livingston goal. It was a special moment.
The robust player revealed: “I had a feeling I was going to score.” His feeling was perfectly correct.
Kyziridis had also supplied the assist from a cross from the right for Claudio Braga to head home from an acute angle two minutes into the second-half to level the score and lift the 6,500 fans who had made the short trip along the M8 from the Capital.
The soft-spoken player came on as a substitute after 45 minutes, replacing defender Craig Halkett, with Hearts 1-0 down and chasing the game, and he took the spotlight after receiving a pass from skipper Lawrence Shankland near The Lions box.
He revealed that he was not disappointed in not starting the game and said: “The manager chooses. I keep my neck up and I always try to do my best.”
When he was waiting to come on Derek McInnes told him to enjoy his game and try to do something. He did and he told the media that his instinct is to move the ball forward.
Kyziridis added: “Every time I have the ball I try to do something. I am trying to do my best when I have a chance to play, as I always said, but the manager will decide where I play.
“If he says goalkeeper I will play goalkeeper. Sometimes I will start and sometimes no, this is the part of football. Sometimes I will be on the bench, I am OK with that.”
When he steps onto the pitch he always tries to do “something different” and said: “I am in a really strong team, we have really good players. It does not matter who plays, we have a strong team.”
A new element is the signing of box-to-box Brazilian midfield player, Eduardo Ageu Almedia Santos (Ageu for short), and Kyziridis said: “He has so much quality, he is strong, good player and he is in good shape to play.”
Looking back at the travelling fans who were on three sides of the Almondvale arena, Kyziridis said: “This is really good when you play away and you have so many fans, our fans are really crazy, I love them, I really like them, they give us hope and strength to make something.”
The player was asked if Hearts could win the league and he said: “We have a really strong team, all the players are amazing and we will try to do our best in every game and, at the end of the season, we will see.”
Asked if he will take time off during the international break, he said: “I am waiting a baby, so, otherwise I like to travel for two or three days to clear my mind, right now I can’t. It is really important to have some days off, to be with the family, and come back stronger and even stronger.”
