The Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts’ double ambitions were abolished as Falkirk secured their place in the Scottish Cup 5th round. Chris Little reports from Tynecastle.
Derek McInnes made 5 changes to the team after their inspiring 10 man victory over St Mirren in midweek. Alexander Schwolow returned to the starting lineup after serving a one match ban following his red card against Dundee last weekend. Jordi Altena, Frankie Kent, Jamie McCart and Tómas Magnússon also returned to the 11, with Craig Gordon, Stuart Findlay and Blair Spittal dropping to the bench. Michael Steinwender and Cammy Devlin are both suspended after being shown red in last seasons Semi Final vs Aberdeen, with the latter facing 6-8 weeks on the sidelines due to injury.
Falkirk stuck with 10 of the 11 that were defeated 1-0 by Celtic at the Falkirk Stadium on Wednesday night, despite a commendable performance against the champions. John McGlynn gave Henry Cartwright the nod in place of Kyrell Wilson who started as a substitute.
First Half
It was the home side who started on the front foot, creating multiple chances in the opening quarter. Claudio Braga hit a driving effort into the side netting, and Lawrence Shankland’s headed effort and Alexandros Kyziridis’ dig were comfortably gathered by Scott Bain.
After the league leaders’ early push, the tempo started to settle with chances for either side coming few and far between. It was the Bairns who had the next big opportunity, with Schwolow beating away Leon McCann’s effort from distance before Frankie Kent cleared it away.
At the other end, on 34 minutes, Claudio Braga did well to square the ball to Magnússon, who had his effort well blocked by Leon McCann.
HT: Hearts 0-0 Falkirk.
Second Half
The Jambos came flying out the traps in the second half, and thought they had snatched a lead on 52 minutes through Magnússon after Harry Milne’s delivery into a crowded Falkirk box, however the goal was correctly chopped off by VAR after the ball struck Magnússon’s arm just before it was tapped home.
The Bairns turned the match on its head, and got their noses in front after 58 minutes when substitute Ben Parkinson got himself in the right spot to smash Filip Lissah’s cross into the roof of the net, following an excellent run by the right back into the Hearts penalty area.
Falkirk grew more into the game after going in front, and they started to control possession which saw Ben Parkinson getting another guilt edged opportunity after latching onto a ball forward and going one-on-one with Schwolow, yet he blazed it high and wide over the bar.
Hearts continued to push, and with 15 minutes to go, Alexandros Kyziridis cut inside and let fly, however it was yet another effort that sailed over the crossbar.
Derek McInnes knew he had to start throwing the kitchen sink at it, as time was running out, which inspired the introduction of debutant Islam Chesnokov, who Hearts signed 2 weeks previously from Kazakh club Tobol.
With 5 minutes remaining on the clock, Chesnokov tore away from Leon McCann into the Falkirk box with the latter sliding in and wiping the new arrival out, leading referee Nick Walsh to point to the spot to give the Jambos a late lifeline.
Lawrence Shankland stepped up and confidently thumped his penalty straight down the middle, sending Bain the wrong way to equalise for Hearts, which was a crucial last turning point of the 90 to send the match to extra time.
FT: Hearts 1-1 Falkirk.
Extra Time
The first period of extra time was uneventful to say the least. Blair Spittal had a great opportunity from a free kick in a promising position for the Jam Tarts when Kyziridis was fouled on 113 minutes, however his effort narrowly sneaked over the bar.
Falkirk nearly managed to clinch it right at the death, when Louis Marsh hit a close range volley, however his shot produced a fine save from Schwolow.
AET: Hearts 1-1 Falkirk.
Penalties
Nine out of the ten penalties on show were of great quality, until Elton Kabangu stepped up and sky-rocketed his spot kick over the bar.
Ben Parkinson, Falkirk’s hero on the night blasted the winning kick straight down the middle to beat Schwolow, and sent Hearts crashing out of the Scottish Cup.
Post Match
Man of the match, Ben Parkinson, who’s been in the door at Falkirk only a week, felt that scoring the winning penalty was a career highlight thus far.
“It’s definitely up there, it’s one of the greatest moments of my career so far, but hopefully I can push on now and get some more moments like that.”
Bairns boss John McGlynn felt his team’s performance showed great spirit and mentality and insists it was deserving of a place in the fifth round draw.
“We’re delighted to be through. We had to battle, it wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t beautiful, but we had to dig in and we showed character.”
Hearts will need to put the disappointment of their Scottish Cup crash out to one side as they host a crucial Premiership match against the champions Celtic in Gorgie next Sunday afternoon, which could be pivotal in determining the direction of the title come May.
Falkirk will be hoping to continue their rich vein of form this season when they host Hibernian on Saturday, where they’re looking to take one step closer to securing their position in the top six.
Top quality Chris!