Dons pay penalty as Hearts head to Hampden again
HEARTS secured a semi-final date with Rangers after a dramatic, nail-biting night at Tynecastle. A pair of first-half Sam Cosgrove penalties, either side of a Steven MacLean strike, had looked as if it would be enough to secure yet another trip to the national stadium for the Dons.
But a dramatic equaliser 90 seconds into five minutes of injury-time, Craig Halkett heading home from a Jake Mulraney cross, meant an extra half hour of thrills and spills in Gorgie.
And, when neither side could find a winner in extra-time, it was down to the dreaded lottery of spot-kicks.
Amazingly, Aberdeen missed their first three efforts, Cosgrove, Niall McGinn and Bruce Anderson the culprits. Hearts players were made of sterner stuff — clinical with each of their efforts with Aidan Keena scoring the allimportant clincher to send Tynecastle into raptures.
Aberdeen’s record in cup competitions over the past three seasons alone would be the envy of most clubs. They’ve been to two finals and three more semifinals during that stretch, the only regret on the part of Derek McInnes and his men being their inability to convert regular attendance into actual silverware.
When it comes these all-ornothing ties, then, the Dons have delivered more knockout blows than Anthony Joshua.
Yet Hearts, having reached both the League Cup semi-final and the Scottish Cup final last season, would hardly have felt cowed heading into this one. Not at Tynecastle. Not after their wee derby adventure at the weekend.
They didn’t disappoint, with the first moment of high drama coming after little more than 30 seconds, as Uche Ikpeazu barrelled straight through the middle of the Dons defence and rattled a right-footed shot off the crossbar, the ball bouncing down on the wrong side of the line.
Clearly, the big man was in the mood to pick up where he’d left off against Hibs, rag-dolling defenders and putting the fear of God into all who bear witness to his mighty rampages.
When Ryotaro Meshino tested Aberdeen keeper Joe Lewis with a stinging shot, Dean Campbell having been straight-up mugged by Glenn Whelan to create the chance, the tone was set.
Hearts were everywhere in those opening moments. The Dons, resplendent in gold jerseys giving them the appearance of a Eurovision ensemble act from the early 1980s, were being run ragged. And then, football being as logical and predictable as a toddler weaned on double shots of espresso, everything changed. With 11 minutes on the clock, Hearts captain Christophe Berra brought Ryan Hedges down inside the box — and referee Kevin Clancy pointed straight at the spot. Cosgrove sent Joel Pereira the wrong way with the penalty and, for all that might have gone wrong for them, the visitors were one up. Hearts took just 11 minutes to find an equaliser. And, on a night of suicidal defending from players on either side, the visitors most definitely contributed to the concession of an unavoidable cross. It began with a nothing cross into the box, Mikey Devlin stooping not so much to conquer as to blunder, his sclaffed header falling straight to MacLean.
The veteran striker could hardly believe his luck — and tucked the ball beyond Lewis with a calmness befitting his many years spent punishing defenders for slips and blunders.
Scores levelled, equilibrium resumed, there was not a chance for everyone at Tynecastle to draw breath. As long as nobody did anything ridiculous.
Ah well, it’s nice to dream. Step forward Loic Damour with the second penalty concession of the night.
There was no reason to go diving in on James Wilson, who still had Halkett between him and the goal after a neat build-up involving Cosgrove and Hedges.
But dive in Damour did, giving Clancy another easy call — and allowing Cosgrove to fool Pereira again, sending ball and keeper in opposite directions with a mirror image of his first spot-kick after the Hearts man was shown a yellow card.
The most maddening thing for Hearts fans, not to mention boss Craig Levein (left) himself, would be that their team were playing pretty well. The odd crazy rush of blood to the head aside.
They certainly got on top of the game in the second half, with Ikpeazu drawing defenders to him like iron filings to a magnet — and then flinging them aside like a grown man up against a bunch of Under-12s.
Aberdeen are nothing if not hard working and organised, though. Lewis Ferguson got on top of Meshino. Passing lanes were closed off. They did enough, sometimes just enough, under varying degrees of pressure.
And there was always the threat that they would score a third. Greg Leigh came within inches of doing just that inside the closing 20 minutes, his left-footed shot fizzing just wide.
Hearts needed a hero. They needed a Superman to come soaring in and solve every one of their problems.
Halkett didn’t have to wear a cape to fill the role. He simply had to time his run and leap over the Dons defence to perfection — sparking absolute bedlam among home fans who had begun to give up all hope.
Extra-time brought tension and teasing moments, chances snatched at by players running on empty.
McGinn simply had to score with a free header from the penalty spot, instead of hitting an oblivious Mulraney.
Penalties it was, then. A test of nerve settled when Hearts kept theirs — and Aberdeen buckled completely.
HEARTS (4-3-2-1): Pereira; Hickey, Halkett, Berra, Smith; Damour (Keena 74), Whelan, Mulraney; MacLean (Clare 68), Meshino (Morrison 79; Irving 113); Ikpeazu 6. Subs not used: Doyle, Bozanic, Dikamona. Booked: Halkett, Damour.
ABERDEEN (4-1-4-1): Lewis; Logan, Devlin (Anderson 118), Considine, Leigh; Ferguson; Wilson (Gallagher 51), McLennan (McGinn 63), Campbell (Vyner 77), Hedges; Cosgrove. Subs not used: Cerny, Main, Ross. Booked: Logan, Hedges. Man of the match: Craig Halkett. Referee: Kevin Clancy. Attendance: 12,866.