Although the home match at Tynecastle on Saturday against Livingston ended in a draw, Hearts knocked their opponents out on penalties.
After 120 minutes of actions the Jambos could not find a way past a stubborn Livingston backline, which meant the team would once again have to call upon their skipper Craig Gordon to dig them out of a hole.
Scotland’s number one duly obliged and after Christian Montano hit the post, Gordon stopped a pop at goal from Ayo Obileye which sparked only muted celebration amongst the Hearts’ players.
Livingston rarely make it easy for teams, and Gordon appeared relieved that Hearts are in the hat for the next round, heaping praise on the Hearts penalty takers.
He said: “It was a bit of a scrap at times.
“We had to really fight for that one. All credit to Livingston, I thought they performed really well, they made it very difficult for us, so we’re delighted to get through and we’ll see what comes next in the draw.
“I think that’s only my second win on penalties, out of about four or five. Every penalty shootout I’ve been in I’ve managed to save one, so then it’s up to the other guys to hit the target and today they were excellent. They stepped up and slotted their penalties away.
“We wanted to do it in style today, but we’ve had to go all the way, fighting and scrapping and showing another side of our game, but no wild celebrations, we’ve not won or achieved anything yet, so keep our feet on the ground, keep progressing and improving and see where it takes us.”
Hearts currently sit ten points clear in third spot and after booking their place in the Scottish Cup quarter finals, it is shaping up to be quite a season for the newly promoted Jambos.
Gordon was keen to explain that Hearts will only succeed if they continue to work hard:
He said: “It could be [a great season], but only if we keep working hard and pushing. If we can do that then we have a good chance to have a good and memorable season, but a couple of results and it could swing the other way. We need to be mindful of that and make sure we’re still right on our game and that there’s no complacency creeping in.
“It’d be great to get through to Hampden and get to a semi-final and have a go there. Regardless of who it’s against, so hopefully we can get a home tie next, get the crowd behind us and have a real go.”
