Hearts report and player ratings v Aberdeen: Three red cards and Scottish Cup heartache for nine-man Jambos

A colossal Hearts effort at Hampden Park proved fruitless as Aberdeen prevailed late in extra-time to progress to the Scottish Cup final. The Tynecastle side finished the match with nine men after defender Michael Steinwender and midfielder Cammy Devlin were sent off, but they fought bravely until the Aberdeen substitute Oday Dabbagh scored a winner in the final minutes at Hampden Park.

Pape Gueye’s header rebounded off the crossbar and Craig Gordon to give Aberdeen the lead before Lawrence Shankland drilled home an emphatic equaliser in the first half. Steinwender received a red card on 43 minutes for denying Topi Keskinen an obvious goalscoring opportunity, and after 90 minutes the teams were still tied at 1-1 in a tense encounter. Devlin was dismissed moments before the Pittodrie side moved 2-1 ahead, and with nine men and precious little time Hearts could not recover.

The defeat means Hearts have little left to play for this season after their finished in the bottom six of the Premiership. They must now ensure they avoid being dragged into the relegation battle but the pain from the outcome of this affair will linger. Aberdeen celebrated at full-time but the Tynecastle side put in a brave display, defending manfully with 10 men throughout the second half and most of extra-time until they were reduced to nine with Devlin’s red card.

There was a third dismissal after full-time as the Hearts assistant coach Mike Garrity was shown a red after confronting referee John Beaton on the pitch. Head coach Neil Critchley was also seen complaining at the match official. Both men were outraged at the decisions, particularly Devlin’s dismissal, and made their feelings clear.

Devlin and James Wilson returned to the Hearts starting line-up in place of Sander Kartum and Blair Spittal. Aberdeen switched goalkeeper with Dimitar Mitov fit again, while their outfield team remained unchanged following last week’s 2-2 draw with Rangers. More than 22,000 Hearts fans were in attendance and their team began the game on the front foot.

However, it was Aberdeen who seized the initiative on 19 minutes. Gueye timed his run brilliantly to rise above Jamie McCart and meet Leighton Clarkson’s corner for a powerful header which crashed off the Hearts crossbar. The ball dropped and ricocheted into the net off goalkeeper Gordon’s leg, giving the Pittodrie side a priceless advantage against the run of play.

It might have been 2-0 seven minutes later when Shayden Morris sprinted through into a through ball and went wide past the emerging Gordon. His cross would have been headed goalwards by Gueye had Devlin not arrived to nod it away at the last second. It was a vital intervention for Hearts, who forced an equaliser moments later.

James Penrice’s curling cross was missed by Graeme Shinnie, who left Shankland alone at the back post. The Tynecastle captain chested the ball down and drilled a convincing finish through Mitov’s legs into the net. That was just reward for how those in maroon had played in the first half, but their task became harder two minutes before the interval when Steinwender was dismissed.

The Austrian fouled Keskinen as the Aberdeen wide man touched the ball past him on a sprint towards goal. Referee John Beaton produced a straight red card, for Steinwender had denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity and team-mates were not close enough to catch Keskinen in full flow even 35 yards from goal. That left Hearts numerically disadvantaged and needing to reorganise.

Critchley replaced strikers Wilson and Elton Kabangu with centre-backs Frankie Kent and Craig Halkett as he switched to a five-man defence for the second half. His team conceded territory and were prepared to spend large spells in their own half, while Aberdeen’s challenge was to break them down. In truth, that was a struggle for Jimmy Thelin’s side. They had most of the ball but came up against a diligent and resolute packed defence.

By the end of 90 minutes, there was still nothing between the teams. Hearts had battled brilliantly with a man less and their supporters chanted in recognition of a gargantuan effort. Extra-time offered the opportunity to keep going in the hope that a winning goal could arrive before penalties. For Aberdeen, the problem was still the lack of quality to fashion a clear scoring chance through a packed and determined Hearts rearguard.

They forced Gordon into a brilliant low save near the end of the first period of extra-time after substitute Dabbagh struck a powerful shot from Graeme Shinnie’s cross. Incredibly given they were playing with an extra player, that was Aberdeen’s first shot on target of the afternoon. Alexander Jensen’s side-footed effort dropped wide of Gordon’s right post in the second half of extra-time.

By then many Hearts players understandably looked dead on their feet. Shankland went down with cramp before being replaced by Musa Drammeh. Gordon produced another fine save to deny Jeppe Okkels, Penrice cleared Dabbagh’s rebound attempt and Devlin then fouled Dante Polvara near the edge of his own penalty area to earn a second yellow card. That was followed by a red, and Hearts were now down to nine men.

The Australian had been booked in normal time for a late tackle on Gueye but the second caution was extremely questionable. Penrice’s clearance landed in front of Devlin, he swung his leg intending to send the ball forward and Polvara got in ahead of him and was caught on the ankle. Beaton reached for his pocket to send the Hearts player down the tunnel early.

This time Aberdeen did capitalise. Substitute’s Jamie McGrath’s cross from the right found Milne for a first-time shot which Gordon parried at full stretch. Dabbagh was in place to prod home the loose ball from close range and send his team into the Scottish Cup final.

As players exchanged handshakes at the end, Critchley and Garrity both aimed comments at Beaton and Garrity was issued a red card to compound a frustrating ending for those from Edinburgh.

Here are the Hearts player ratings from Hampden Park: