The summer transfer window, a time where no dream is too pie-in-the-sky, where optimism ahead of the new campaign is born and subsequently grows at an unstoppable rate. But there's another, more melancholic side to the summer window; the part where we're forced to say goodbye to players who've had a major impact on our football team, and therefore our lives, over previous years.

So far Alex Cochrane is the only player who could be deemed as an important Heart of Midlothian first-team player to have left. The others to depart were very much expected; Michael McGovern (a veteran, back-up goalkeeper), Peter Haring (much loved, but obvious his time was up), a couple of so-so, half-season loanees (Dexter Lembikisa, Scott Fraser), and, the protagonist of this article, Andy Halliday. 

It's difficult to quantify Halliday's overall legacy at Tynecastle. Having looked like quite the coup when he was initially recruited to play in the Championship season, the midfielder had both his ardent supporters and critical doubters within the club's support.

However, there's an aspect of his Hearts career that cannot be questioned. On April 9, 2022, Andy Halliday joined the latest in a very long line of Hearts players to have himself a moment against Hibernian. And what a moment it was.

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From now on, if you say "The Andy Halliday Derby" to another Hearts fan, they will immediately know what game you're talking about.

A week before the all-Edinburgh Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden, the two sides met at Tynecastle in the final pre-split fixture in the Scottish Premiership. With Hearts clear in third and a defeat consigning Hibs to the bottom half of the table, it seemed preordained the home side would find victory.

Yet, in the early going, Hibs threatened to rip up the script and turn pre-match expectations on their head. Drey Wright opened the scoring as Hearts struggled to find their feet in the opening exchanges. But the hosts would soon find their way into the game and, in Halliday, they had a stand-out performer in the centre of the park.

This writer forgot how well Halliday played in this game before watching the full game back. Even discounting the two goals he scored to win Hearts the game, his overall performance was excellent.

His first touch of the game was even impressive.

Dropping deep to give Craig Halkett an option as Hearts sought to pass it out from the back, he could've easily been boxed in by four surrounding Hibs players with Joe Newell advancing quickly from behind.

Instead, he opened himself up, blocked off Newell's angle and split two opponents with a pass out wide to Alex Cochrane.

It was something he did effectively throughout the game. Playing as part of a two-man midfield alongside Peter Haring in a 3-4-3 formation, Halliday often found himself under pressure. Hibs also lined up in a 3-4-3, but supporting attackers Chris Mueller and Drey Wright played narrowly as visiting boss Shaun Maloney looked to create pressing overloads in advanced central areas. A lack of awareness or a poor touch could have put Halliday into real bother on several occasions, but he always found his way out of trouble.

Passing was an aspect of Halliday's game that could sometimes be criticised at Tynecastle, but it was on point on this occasion. Completing 24 of 26 attempts, it was his third-best completion percentage for a single game across the entire season (with at least 10 attempts) and his second-best for a league game. The key was he made decisions quickly. Many passes were hit first-time with Halliday showing awareness and forethought to help him stand out in a game of frenetic speed.

Always someone you can rely on to meet the urgency of a derby match, he tenaciously hunted down loose balls, made life difficult for Hibs midfielders in possession and won more fouls (three) than he gave away (zero). He combined this physical doggedness with a composed mindset, which enabled him to shine so brightly in this encounter.

And, of course, there was the goal threat. Even prior to scoring he had two attempts on goal. In both, he shot over the bar as advancing Hibs defenders caused him to lean back and rush his attempt, but he made no mistake on the stroke of half-time. Drifting off a covering-yet-ball-watching Joe Newell, Halliday firmly planted a low strike into the back of the net off the inside of the far post after a panicked Paul Hanlon clearance dropped into his path.

Having been taunted by the Hibs support for his part in Rangers' 2016 Scottish Cup final defeat to the Leith side, revenge was sweet for Halliday and his team-mates, with Cochrane cupping his ears in celebration toward the subdued members of the Roseburn Stand.

Having scored late in the first half, the hosts then put themselves in front just over a minute into the second. Halliday was again involved, keeping possession after a Barrie McKay corner kick had been cleared outside the penalty area. After recovering the ball, he laid it on for Haring who whipped in a deep cross for Stephen Kingsley to finish at the far post.

He then made sure of the victory in the 58th minute. Starting in his own half when Hearts won back possession, Halliday raced forward to support McKay as he advanced up field.

Moving into space to receive McKay's backheel, Halliday exhibited the confidence flowing through him as he advanced before striking another low shot into the corner past Matt Macey.

His heroics weren't done there. With the Gorgie faithful still basking in a post-goal celebration, he stole the ball off the toes of Melkersen when it looked like the Norwegian was about to have a free shot at goal inside the penalty area. He then put a bow on this tremendous performance was a cool Maradona-turn to leave an embarrassed Mueller on the deck as he expertly got himself out of another under-pressure situation.

Not long after, perhaps with the following weekend's semi-final in mind, Neilson withdrew him from proceedings with still 20 minutes remaining. The chance at a hat-trick was gone, but at least the player got a deserved standing ovation from a delighted Tynecastle crowd.

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This was the peak of Halliday's time in EH11, both in terms of this individual game and the period of time during his stay. In the first half of the 2021/22 campaign he had slipped down the pecking order behind Haring, Cammy Devlin and Beni Baningime, often being used from the bench or at left wing-back whenever Kingsley or Cochrane weren't available. But his performances improved in the second half of the season. Oddly enough, it came after a Scottish Cup win at Auchinleck Talbot. Halliday played in the front three that day and was the stand-out performer. It may have been against humble opposition, but it seemed to give him a much-needed confidence boost and he rode that wave right to the end of the season, including being a second-half sub in the Scottish Cup final defeat to Rangers.

He would fall back into the squad player role once again the following campaign. Although his time in maroon didn't officially come to an end this summer, it was basically done as soon as Robbie Neilson was sacked and Steven Naismith was appointed as his permanent successor. The current boss preferred to give young players like Aidan Denholm and Macaulay Tait an opportunity in the team rather than rely on Halliday's experience.

At least we'll always have 'The Andy Halliday Derby'.