Hearts 2 Partick Thistle 1

By Ronnie Esplin, PA Sport

Hearts survived a late onslaught from Partick to take their place in the draw for the Tennent's Scottish Cup semi-finals after a hard-fought win at Tynecastle.

A fifth-minute header by Edgaras Jankauskas gave the home side a dream start and the unconvincing Gorgie men looked to have safely negotiated a tricky match when Deividas Cesnauskis scored a second after 63 minutes.

However striker Roman Bednar, who had replaced Calum Elliot, was sent off in the 70th minute after picking up two yellow cards, the second for diving inside the Jags' penalty area after rounding Thistle keeper Kenny Arthur.

Jags midfielder Mark Roberts then scored for the visitors to ensure a tense finale and the nervy home side were relieved to hear the final whistle.

The home side started as if they meant business, forcing Thistle into some desperate defending inside their own penalty area in the opening minute.

The visitors survived only until the fifth minute when they fell behind to the simplest of goals. Paul Hartley's in-swinging cross from the left dipped onto the head of Jankauskas who easily flicked the ball past the helpless Arthur from 12 yards out.

The game settled down but Thistle were showing little to suggest they would threaten Craig Gordon in the Hearts goal, striker Paul Ritchie's 19th-minute effort from 25 yards slipping well wide of the target and Roberts' drive from distance flying high over the bar moments later.

The Edinburgh side seemed comfortable enough in their lead but as the first half wore on there were signs the visitors were finding more belief.

The nervy Jambos fans sensed the sea-change in dominance as Partick forced a couple of corners in quick succession, the second on the half-hour mark coming to an end when Sandy Hodge's header from Adam Strachan's cross was blocked by sheer numbers.

Play then sped from end to end. Jankauskas came close with a header following Julien Brellier's cross from the right before Partick defender Marc Smyth's punt deep into the Jambos penalty area was headed wide by stopper Scott Boyd who had joined the attack.

And moments later, as the Hearts defence hesitated again, Stephen McConalogue's effort from close range went just over the bar.

A game that had started so encouragingly for the Gorgie men had faded by the time referee Craig Thomson blew for half-time.

Unusually, the Hearts players came out for a second warm-up with fitness trainer Tom Ritchie before the second half began, perhaps an indication that head coach Graham Rix was less than happy at how his side had ended the first period.

When play resumed, the Gorgie men indeed looked a bit sharper but Partick, for their part, were not intimidated in any way.

In the 50th minute, Hartley played the ball back to Robbie Neilson wide on the right but when the defender's cross came in Jankauskas' weak header went wide.

It was as close to a genuine chance as the match had produced for at least 20 minutes and the substitution of McConalogue for Ricky Gillies suggested the Jags were looking to freshen their attacking options up.

In the 57th minute, when Hartley was adjudged to have fouled Jimmy Gibson 25 yards from goal, Gillies touched the ball to Billy Gibson and the Partick midfielder's deflected drive produced a terrific save from Gordon.

The mood inside Tynecastle turned immediately and Hearts responded by bringing on Bednar for the disappointing Elliot.

And in the 63rd minute the Jambos doubled their lead with a wonderful strike by Cesnauskis. The Lithuanian did not look in a particularly dangerous position when he drifted inside the Jags penalty area but out of the blue he curled an unstoppable left-footed shot past Arthur and into the top corner.

In the 70th minute, substitute Bednar, who had been booked for encroaching just after Hearts' second goal, was sent off. The Czech striker went through on goal with only Arthur to beat and went to ground after rounding the Jags keeper .

The home fans were stunned further when the referee showed a second yellow card, judging Bednar to have dived.

The Jambos supporters were shocked further in the 75th minute when Roberts curled a shot from the edge of the penalty area past Gordon and into the corner of the net.

The nerves were jangling among the home fans as the visitors threw everything forward in search of an equaliser but to no avail as the Edinburgh side survived.

Teams

Hearts Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Fyssas,Cesnauskis (Berra 81), Brellier, Hartley,Skacel (Mikoliunas 66), Jankauskas, Elliot (Bednar 61).

Subs Not Used: Banks, Aguiar.

Sent Off: Bednar (71).

Booked: Bednar, Brellier.

Goals: Jankauskas 6, Cesnauskis 63.

Partick Arthur, Murray, Smyth, Hodge, Boyd, James Gibson,Billy Gibson, Roberts, Strachan, McConalogue (Gillies 56),Ritchie (Brady 62).

Subs Not Used: Colin Stewart, Snowdon, Craig.

Booked: McConalogue, Murray, James Gibson.

Goals: Roberts 75.

Att: 16,365

Ref: C Thomson (Scotland).

Taken from sportinglife.com