CLARE WAY TO HEAVEN
Sean’s spot-kick weathers storm as woodwork denies the Bairns
Hearts weathered Storm Ciara and Force 10 Falkirk as they struggled but survived on the road back to Hampden.
Sean Clare’s fourth goal in five games – and his second penalty on the bounce – five minutes into the second half was enough to book last year’s finalists their place in the last eight.
But they scraped through by the skin of their teeth in a game where they were second best for almost its entirety.
Third-tier Bairns hit the post twice and bar once in a furious secondhalf fightback that fell short.
Al l that matters for Daniel Stendel though is the win and the clean sheet as he fights to build a fragile feelgood factor back around Tynecastle and his team.
Social media had been showing throwback footage of Falkirk’s famous third-round win over the Jambos in 2003 when they were four up inside half an hour.
This time both sides struggled to string four passes together in the same time frame, far less net.
And it was hard to blame them. From the moment John Beaton gave the game the go-ahead 90 minutes out, no one was expecting a classic with brutal 40mph winds, swirling rain and a bone- chilling drop in temperature before kick-off.
Plenty had the Bairns down for a potential upset, maybe not realising they hadn’t beaten a single top-four side in their own division all season despite their promotion chase.
And they made a decent contest of it, giving as good as they got playing down hurricane in the first half and doing well to suppress a quality Jambos front three with Stevie Naismith playing off Liam Boyce and Conor Washington.
Neither side managed a single shot though, far less one on target, until 19- goal Declan McManus squirted a 30-yard free-kick wide half an hour in. But with the weather playing havoc, there was always the chance a mistake would throw up an opportunity – and it came five minutes before the break for the Bairns.
Clevid Dikamona misjudged keeper Robbie Mutch’s long exocet over the top to let Josh Todd in but the former Annan and Dundee midfielder wanted too long before pulling the trigger and with Smith back applying pressure fired wide.
Hearts managed an effort of their own before half-time relief came, Boyce twisting and turning on the edge of the box before forcing a low save from Mutch.
But it was a poor reflection on them that it was impossible to discern which of the sides resides two tiers above the other one. As soon as they turned with the wind though they managed to do what Falkirk hadn’t.
Again it was a ball launched over the top from the keeper but Boyce was clever, checking his run slightly as he and Michael Doyle chased it down into the box.
The full-back bundled him over and John Beaton instantly pointing to the spot.
Clare stopped up and was all business as he drilled it past Mutch into the bottom corner.
Falkirk responded with a fury though, McManus denied by the post once in the six-yard box from a corner, then again 30 seconds later as he smashed a superb effort across Joel Pereira but off the inside of the woodwork.
If ever they realised it wasn’t their night it came before the hour after great work by Paul Dixon and Aidan Connolly set up Gary Miller 20 yards out. The midfielder met his shot f lush on the laces and you could almost smell Pereira’s relief as the ball boomed down off the bar behind him.
But despite a but more pressure, Hearts did enough to hold out and eventually stifle their threat.
Stendel took the sting out of the game with his subs, although they still struggled to create much in the way of chances.
Every ball out wide was dollied into Mutch’s arms, every foray through the middle was snuffed out by poor awareness and ball circulation.
And even the one glaring chance they did get, falling to sub Euan Henderson after good work by Boyce, was scooped over the bar from six yards out.
It was head-in-hands moment that summed up the majority of their night.
However, with Storm Ciara showing no signs of respite it was Clare’s stormer that sent Hearts marching on.