Heart of Midlothian secured their place in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals with a professional 3-0 victory away to Stenhousemuir on Thursday evening. The Premiership side's quality told in a first-half blitz that effectively ended the tie as a contest before the break.
J. Williams was the architect, opening the scoring in the 35th minute with a low finish after being played in by T. Magnusson. Just four minutes later, Williams turned provider, slipping a pass through for R. Mato to double the advantage. The third goal arrived in the 74th minute, with substitute Y. Dhanda applying the finish after another neat assist from the influential Williams.
Match control
Heart of Midlothian managed the game expertly after establishing their lead, limiting their League Two hosts to few clear chances. Stenhousemuir's frustration showed in three yellow cards, for L. Grant, S. Young and M. Anderson, but no red cards were issued. The visitors made full use of their squad, introducing Dhanda, C. Miller, S. Kingsley, J. Altena and P. Kabore from the bench in the second half.
The result extends Heart of Midlothian' impressive recent form. They now sit third in the Premiership with 12 points from five games, having scored 12 goals and conceded just five. Manager Steven Naismith will be pleased with the depth shown, especially with several players including Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley currently sidelined.
Naismith told reporters after the match that the performance was exactly what he wanted. "The boys were professional and clinical when they needed to be," he said. "It's a good step towards where we want to be this season."
Attention now turns back to league duty, with Heart of Midlothian looking to maintain their strong start when they host Aberdeen at Tynecastle this weekend. The full squad available for that match is listed on our squad page.
JJ Williams made his first start for Heart of Midlothian in the League Cup win over Stenhousemuir. The American, who joined from Rhode Island a fortnight ago, scored and provided an assist. The victory extends Heart of Midlothian' recent form to four wins and a draw from their last five matches, leaving them third in the Premiership.
