St. Johnstone 1 - 2 Heart of Midlothian

St. Johnstone 1-2 Heart of Midlothian (AET)
From Hearts Media at McDiarmid Park.

It was the late, late show again from Hearts as a last minute Jamie Hamill penalty and a Marius Zaliukas strike minutes from the end of extra-time completed a stunning comeback as the Jambos booked a home tie with St. Mirren in the quarter final.

Murray Davidson looked to have won it for St. Johnstone when he found the top corner with seven minutes remaining.

Paulo Sergio made two changes to the side that rescued a last gasp point at Kilmarnock on Saturday. Ian Black dropped out through suspension to be replaced by Scott Robinson, whilst Andrew Driver dropped out completely to make way for David Obua.

The home side were first to threaten after Marius Zaliukas' clearance fell to Liam Craig, whose drive was deflected wide from a narrow angle after four minutes.

The Jambos first effort on goal came after 11 minutes, although Grainger's free kick was no where near good enough to trouble Mannus.

The first real shot on target came from Sheridan after 25 minutes, his angled drive taking a deflection off of Jamie Hamill that made MacDonald's save all the more impressive.

Skacel was trying the same at the other end and saw Mannus parry his effort well just two minutes later.

Jamie MacDonald was forced in to a fantastic close range save from Sheridan on 34 minutes. The Irish striker had been flagged offside, although it was impressive goalkeeping from the Hearts 'keeper nonetheless.

The majority of the play was concentrated in the midfield area, with clear-cut chances few and far between.

The last action of an uninspiring first half came from Liam Craig's low free kick which was held at his near post by MacDonald.

Hearts were inches away from taking the lead on 49 minutes. Skacel collected Grainger's deep corner and drilled it back across goal. The ball struck Webster on the back and unfortunately for the big defender, it flew just wide of Mannus' right hand post.

The second half settled in to much the same pattern as the first, with the majority of play breaking down when either side reached the final third of the pitch.

Scott Robinson worked a decent shooting opportunity for himself on 72 minutes, but his right foot shot flew wildly away from goal.

The game began to open up in the last 15 minutes, with both sides looking dangerous on the counter attack.

As it was, it was the home side who provided a late break through. Davidson played a one-two with Sandaza on the edge of the box before stabbing the ball in to the top corner from the edge of area.

Stephen Elliott wasn't far away from levelling with five minutes left, his curling right foot effort bending just wide of the far post.

It was Elliott again trying to fire Hearts back in to the tie with a minute of normal time left, creating space for himself and sending in a left foot shot that was deflected just wide.

From the resulting corner Adrian Mrowiec saw his first time effort blocked in similar fashion.

Just when Hearts thought their last chance had gone, Templeton's long diagonal pass was taken down by Suso, who was felled in the box by Maybury. Brian Winter pointed to the spot with seconds left.

Hamill stepped up and thumped the ball low in to the corner to send the game in to extra time.

Francisco Sandaza produced a real moment of quality two minutes in to extra time. The Spanish striker jinked inside and sent a stinging shot just over Jamie MacDonald's cross bar.

Sandaza again went close on 101 minutes, his header forcing a tremendous save from MacDonald low at his right hand post.

Stephen Elliott dug deep to draw on his energy reserves to spin away from Craig and send a vicious left foot effort swinging wide with eight minutes left.

It was the Jambos who were finishing the stronger, and Templeton's deflected drive across the goal was just over Webster's head.

From the resulting corner, Hearts went ahead. After a frantic stramash, the ball came back off the bar, only for Marius Zaliukas to smash the ball home from close range and send the visiting fans and bench in to raptures with four minutes left.

The captain wasn't finished there, who along with Webster repelled high ball after high ball that the Saints pumped forward, and ensured their side saw the game out to claim a famous victory.

St. Johnstone: Mannus, Anderson (Oyenuga 106), Maybury (Haber 93), Morris, Wright, McCracken, Millar (Croft 70), Davidson, Sheridan, Craig. Subs not used: Enckelman, Keatings.

Hearts: MacDonald, Hamill, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger (McGowan 74), Mrowiec, Robinson, Taouil (Suso 80), Obua (Templeton 65), Skacel, Elliott. Subs not used: Ridgers, Smith.

Referee: Brian Winter

Top man: Marius Zaliukas

Hearts World