DUNFERMLINE 1 HEARTS 0

THE pre-match chat might have centred on the omission of Craig Gordon but after a pulsating tie that saw the reigning champions de-throned Dorus De Vries was the keeper everyone was talking about.

It was skipper Scott Wilson who grabbed the glory with a dramatic headed winner three minutes into stoppage time as Dunfermline secured a place in the quarter-finals.

Wilson capped a heroic defensive display with a priceless late strike as the Pars, conquerors of Rangers in the previous round, claimed another major Scottish Cup scalp at East End Park.

But there was no doubt Stephen Kenny's side would have found themselves out of the competition if it hadn't been for De Vries' magnificent contribution.

Three times at the start of the second half the Dutchman produced saves of exceptional quality that effectively broke Hearts and filled his own team with a renewed sense of belief.

Even Gordon, who was promoted from his seat in the stand at Ibrox last weekend but only as far as the substitutes' bench, must have been impressed by the lighting reflexes and cat-like agility of his Dunfermline counterpart.

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There were 56 minutes on the clock when De Vries first came to his team's rescue, producing an amazing one-handed stop to keep out a blistering angled drive from Saulius Mikoliunas.

Seconds later he evoked memories of Gordon Bank's famous save from Pele at 1970 World Cup when he somehow clawed Michal Pospisil's header back from the brink when it appeared to be past him. And to complete his hat-trick of top-class stops De Vries defied the laws of gravity when he twisted his body mid-flight to get a leg on a deflected Marius Zaliukas header that seemed destined for the net.

For the first 20 minutes of the second half Hearts were in total control but their failure to convert a series of gilt-edged chances eventually proved their downfall.

Slowly and steadily Dunfermline, inspired by the efforts of their keeper and the youthful exuberance of Adam Hamill in midfield, forced their way back into the contest.

Hamill, the teenager Scouser on loan from Liverpool, ripped two full-backs to shreds before supplying the cross for Wilson's winning goal.

Hristos Karipidis was taken off for his own good after being cautioned for a foul on the 19-year-old, who then subjected his replacement John Armstrong to another roasting.

Hamill's stoppage-time cross was begging to be attacked and Wilson was happy to oblige, showing the necessary desire to force himself between Edgaras Jankauskas and Zaliukas to head home from close range.

Understandably, sympathy was thin on the ground for Hearts - a club that has turned unpopularity into an art form and shown nothing but contempt for their players and supporters over the past two seasons. Fans showed their disgust by tossing their scarves on to the pitch at the final whistle and chanting Gordon's name.

The Scotland international is the latest Riccarton Rebel to find himself frozen out, yet there would be no post-match explanation of his latest axing or the increasingly bizarre team selections at Tynecastle.

Manager Valdas Ivanauskas didn't have the decency to face the press afterwards and his players were also prevented from commenting. Instead, it was left to assistant boss Steve Frail, who was dragged out of Stephen Kenny's office where he was enjoying an after-match drink, to do Hearts' talking.

Well, sort of. When questioned about Gordon's omission, Paul Hartley's departure and the constant changes in personnel, Frail said: "I would love to answer but I'm the assistant manager and don't pick the team."

To his credit, Frail did elaborate slightly and he at least had the common courtesy to address the media and offer some explanation to the Hearts support.

He said: "The manager reckons Steve Banks has done well in the last few games and that's the decision he made.

"You will always miss good players and Paul Hartley is a good player.

"But he's away now and, while I'm sure he will do well at Celtic, you can't look back."

Unsurprisingly, Kenny's mood was more upbeat after watching his team find the net for only the second time in 10 matches.

Asked if he thought his team would grab a winner, Kenny said: "Absolutely not. We haven't scored goals of late and that's been a problem for us.

"Even though we had a lot of possession we didn't create much, although I don't think anyone could deny us the win.

"We played with four up at the end and got our reward in the end.

"The margins have been so narrow the last few weeks. We beat Rangers 3-2 then lost 1-0 to them.We beat Hearts 1-0 but lost 1-0 to them in the league.

"We drew 0-0 with Dundee United last week and the previous game we lost 1-0 to Falkirk when we conceded a goal in the 94th minute. At this moment it's all about survival for us and it's important we can put out a team the supporters can be proud of.

"I think it was a good cup-tie with the crowd on their feet for most of the game and I think we deserved some luck."

Dunfermline - De Vries 9, Wilson 8, Simmons 6, Morrison 6, McGuire 7, Mason 6, Burchill 5 (Hamilton 67, 4), O'Brien 6 (Morrison 87, 2), Hamill 8, Ross 6, Crawford 6 (McIntyre 80, 3). Subs not used: McKenzie, Bamba,

Hearts - Banks 6, Tall 6, Wallace 6, Zaliukas 7, Karipidis 5 (Armstrong 60, 4), Driver 6, McCann 6, Kingston 5, Mikoliunas 6 (Jankauskas 73, 3), Elliot 6, Pospisil 6 (Bednar 67, 3). Subs not used: Gordon, Brellier.

Taken from the Daily Record