Ten-man Hearts stun Rapid Vienna in shootout to reach Conference League
Hearts reached the Conference League’s main phase after beating Rapid Vienna 4-3 on penalties, despite playing the latter stages with 10 men. The result is a major European achievement for the Scottish side, who recovered from a difficult qualifying campaign and may have secured their most significant continental victory for more than 20 years.
After the first leg ended 2-2, Rapid led through Ercan Kara before Tomas Magnusson was sent off in the 76th minute. Landry Kaboré equalised soon afterwards and Calvin Miller put Hearts ahead in extra time, but Nenad Cvetkovic made it 4-4 on aggregate in the 119th minute; goalkeeper Beau Reus then saved two penalties to seal victory. Hearts will play in the Conference League proper for the third time in five seasons, having previously been heavily beaten by Sturm Graz and Benfica in qualifying.
- Ten-man Hearts beat Rapid Vienna on penalties to reach the Conference League.
- Beau Reus saved two penalties in the shootout.
- Hearts recovered after earlier heavy European qualifying defeats.
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The Conference League is the third tier of European club football, below the Champions League and Europa League. Teams reach its main phase through qualifying rounds, where a tie may be decided over two legs, with each side playing once at home and once away.
Hearts are a football club from Edinburgh and one of Scotland’s established teams. Rapid Vienna are based in Austria’s capital and have a long history in European competition; both clubs were trying to advance from the qualifying rounds into the Conference League main phase.
Reaching that stage gives Hearts a place in a wider European competition and brings more matches against clubs from other countries. It is a notable milestone for a Scottish club whose previous recent attempts to qualify for the main phase of European tournaments had ended in defeat.