Hearts beat 10-man Hibs to reach Scottish Cup final

Wonderful early strikes from Ellis Simms and Stephen Kingsley sent Hearts into the Scottish Cup final as 10-man Hibernian fell short with a fiery fightback at Hampden.

Chris Cadden replied immediately, while a fantastic save from Craig Gordon denied Ryan Porteous an equaliser.

Hibs kept pressing after Joe Newell's dismissal but could not find parity.

• As it happened & reaction from Hampden

These two have been going at it since 1895 but this was just their fourth meeting at the national stadium. Hearts have won them all.

Not only do they have a chance of cup glory in May but, with Sunday's semi-finalists Celtic and Rangers already in next season's Champions League places, it guarantees a crack at the group stage of either the Europa League or Conference League.

This time last year, Hearts were a Championship side reeling from the embarrassment of a Scottish Cup defeat to Highland League outfit Brora Rangers.

Following a typically frantic opening, Hampden was lit up by two special goals inside five minutes, with Simms clattering a shot home from 20 yards and Kingsley curling in a precise strike from a bit further out.

The packed out Hearts end was going wild, with fans dreaming of another Scottish Cup derby drubbing like the ones dished out in the 2006 semi and 2012 final.

There were a few empty sections at the other end of the ground and there looked to be more vacant seats as some headed for the exits only to be brought back by Cadden's goal, slammed in after great tenacity in the penalty box from Lewis Stevenson.

Hearts, who lost Andy Halliday and Craig Halkett to injuries in a thunderous contest, had a great chance to restore their cushion, only for Liam Boyce to drill inches wide in first-half stoppage time.

Following on from last weekend's derby defeat at Tynecastle, which consigned Hibs to a bottom six finish in the Premiership it was to be another disappointing day for a club that has reached this stage of both cup competitions for three seasons running with nothing to show for it other than a couple of sets of losers' medals.

Shaun Maloney has made a thoroughly unconvincing start to his managerial career but there were encouraging signs as he choose a more experienced and robust side, who fought for every inch of turf and were denied an equaliser early in the second half when Gordon got fingertips to a Porteous header, diverting it against a post.

Hibs' continued ferocity was to be their undoing on 64 minutes when Newell was shown a second yellow card for a foolish, lunging tackle, while substitute Josh Campbell was perhaps fortunate to avoid a straight red for a rash challenge soon after.

The depleted underdogs continued to push for a leveller but patched up Hearts held firm amid the broiling froth and fury, with Gordon pushing away a free-kick from Sylvester Jasper deep into eight minutes of added time.

Man of the match - Stephen Kingsley

Kingsley was one of three Hearts players forced to hobble off injured at Hampden, having scored a great goal and putting in a shift to repel determined opponents

What did we learn?

Hearts were nowhere near their best as aggressive Hibs knocked them off their stride but they produced two top class finishes and then dug in to book their place in the final.

Mounting injuries will be a concern for head coach Robbie Neilson, who is already without Michael Smith and John Souttar and midfielder Beni Baningime, but tonight he can focus on what has been a fantastic season, wrapping up third place on returning to the top flight, with a return visit to Hampden next month.

This was Hibs' last chance to rescue what has been a miserable campaign and, while there was much to admire about their spirit, cooler heads were required and there remains a significant disconnect between midfield and attack.