Ten-Man Hearts Beat Rapid Vienna on Penalties to Reach Conference League

Hearts secured a place in the Conference League main phase after beating Rapid Vienna 4-3 on penalties in Austria, despite playing the closing stages with 10 men. The second leg finished 2-2 after extra time, leaving the playoff level at 4-4 on aggregate following another 2-2 draw at Tynecastle. PA Media reported that goalkeeper Beau Reus made two saves in the shootout to complete the victory.

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Rapid took the lead in the 34th minute through Ercan Kara. A low shot from the right by Yusuf Demir deflected off Oisin McEntee and fell to Kara, who finished from close range. Hearts had already been forced into an early change after Tom Renaud was carried off in the 15th minute, with Tomas Magnusson replacing him.

Hearts created chances on either side of halftime but their position worsened in the 76th minute, when Magnusson received a second yellow card for tripping Jannes Horn. The dismissal came while Hearts were still behind on the night. Three minutes later, however, substitute Landry Kabore met Blair Spittal's corner at the near post and chested the ball into the net to force extra time.

The visitors then moved ahead in the 100th minute. Calvin Miller produced an acrobatic volley from substitute Rogers Mato's cross, putting Hearts within reach of qualification. Rapid responded in the 119th minute when Nenad Cvetkovic converted Moulaye Haidara's cross, extending the contest to penalties.

Miller, Jordi Altena, Mato and Sabah Kerjota converted their spot kicks for Hearts, while McEntee was the only visiting player to miss. Reus denied both Haidara and Marco Tilio as Hearts edged the shootout. The result ensured the Scottish side would compete in the Conference League proper for the third time in five seasons.

Qualification also ended a difficult sequence of European ties for Wouter Vrancken's team. Hearts had lost 6-0 on aggregate to Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifying, then went down 7-2 on aggregate to Benfica in the Europa League before entering the Conference League playoffs. In Vienna, their recovery from a goal down, an injury-enforced change and a red card ultimately kept their European campaign alive.