Match ends, Heart of Midlothian 2(1), Dunfermline Athletic 2(3).
Hearts were knocked out of the Scottish League Cup after drawing with second-tier Dunfermline Athletic, who progress from round one as Group B winners.
Don Cowie's opener for Premiership Hearts was cancelled out by Joe Cardle's stylish finish.
Declan McManus fired the Pars in front but Isma Goncalves equalised before Dunfermline secured a bonus point by winning the penalty shoot-out.
Also in Group B, Peterhead beat Elgin City 3-0 to seal the runners-up spot.
However, the Blue Toon's hopes of going through as one of the four best second-placed teams depends on either Dundee or Dundee United sustaining a heavy defeat in Sunday's derby.
The contrasting form of both sides gave advance warning of what might happen at Tynecastle.
Dunfermline had put five on Peterhead earlier in the group whereas Hearts lost to them. Dunfermline scored six against Elgin whereas Hearts toiled for a 1-0 win. The visitors to Edinburgh were full of confidence; the hosts stymied by lack of pace, creativity, leadership and defensive stability.
What all of this means to head coach Ian Cathro's job is hard to know, but there were cries of "sacked in the morning" from the home support in the second half. What reason do they have to believe in him now? Cathro has been given time but nothing is improving. Those who were completely with him when he was appointed in December are deserting him fast, their faith exhausted.
Hearts, with only seven wins in 2017 so far, did take the lead when Cowie's angled shot from decent set-up play from Kyle Lafferty gave Cathro the beginning he was hoping for. The optimism was short-lived.
To be precise, it lasted eight minutes. John Souttar stood off Cardle and the winger took advantage, curling in a beauty past Jack Hamilton.
- Hibernian beat Alloa to top Group D; Ross County progress
- Partick Thistle through but Inverness & Morton go out
- Ayr thump Annan to win Group E, Kilmarnock also progress
- Hamilton Academical beat Stenhousemuir to top Group G
Hearts needed energy and trickery but the man they usually turn to, Jamie Walker, was not in the squad, left out for footballing reasons said his manager.
Amid speculation about a move to Rangers, Cathro remarked that Walker has shown a "drop-off" in performance level and focus.
It has to be said that Walker finished last season poorly and has not been good in the early games of this season either. He has one goal in his last 18 games for Hearts.
The best chance the hosts had to go back in front came from a Dunfermline player - Callum Morris - who almost knocked one past his own goalkeeper only for Sean Murdoch to make a superb save.
Boos at the break for Hearts and then, early in the new half, a second goal for Dunfermline.
Panic-ridden defending was at the root of it, Souttar selling himself and opening up the space that Dunfermline executed with composure and precision. McManus received Callum Smith's pass and smashed in his third goal in four games in this competition.
Dunfermline were pushed back in the latter stages. As Hearts grew desperate they managed to cause the Championship side some bother, Nate Wedderburn and Cardle knocking efforts off the line in quick succession.
Hearts did get the equaliser when another deep cross sent into the Dunfermline box led to Goncalves bundling home and they could have pulled off a dramatic comeback in the dying seconds had substitute Cole Stockton not blasted wide on the turn from three yards out.
Dunfermline advanced even before the spot-kicks had taken place and Hearts were out. And how Tynecastle let Cathro know how they felt about it. Cathro cut a lonely figure at the end.
Hearts then added to the feeling of rancour inside the stadium when they lost the most meaningless of penalty shoot-outs. Jordan McGhee, Malaury Martin and Cowie could not even hit the target on a desperately bleak day. One wonders how many more of these experiences Cathro will be allowed.
At Borough Briggs, Paul Cairney struck an early opener for Peterhead and David McCracken headed their second before the break. Jamie Stevenson fired a third for the visitors after the break.
Line-ups
Hearts
Formation 3-4-1-2
- 13Hamilton
- 24McGhee
- 4SouttarSubstituted forNowakat 53'minutes
- 6Berra
- 2Smith
- 8BuabenSubstituted forStocktonat 60'minutes
- 15Cowie
- 30Brandon
- 10Sutchuin-DjoumSubstituted forMartinat 75'minutes
- 9Lafferty
- 77Esmael Gonçalves
Substitutes
- 3Smith-Brown
- 16Randall
- 19Nowak
- 21Martin
- 23Stockton
- 25Currie
- 31Noring
Dunfermline
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Murdoch
- 2Williamson
- 5Morris
- 6Ashcroft
- 3Martin
- 7Higginbotham
- 15Paton
- 8WedderburnBooked at 55mins
- 11CardleSubstituted forMvotoat 88'minutes
- 9McManus
- 23SmithSubstituted forLochheadat 66'minutesBooked at 86mins
Substitutes
- 4Mvoto
- 13Splaine
- 14Talbot
- 18Duthie
- 19Lochhead
- 20Gill
- Referee:
- Craig Thomson
- Attendance:
- 8,404
Match Stats
- Possession
- Home56%
- Away44%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away9
- Shots on Target
- Home5
- Away4
- Corners
- Home11
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home6
- Away10
Live Text
Post update
Post update
Attempt saved. Prince Buaben (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot from more than 40 yards on the right wing is saved in the bottom right corner.
Penalties over
Penalty Shootout ends, Heart of Midlothian 2(1), Dunfermline Athletic 2(3).
Post update
Penalty missed! Bad penalty by Don Cowie (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot is too high. Don Cowie should be disappointed.
Goal!
Goal! Heart of Midlothian 2(1), Dunfermline Athletic 2(3). Nathaniel Wedderburn (Dunfermline Athletic) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the high centre of the goal.
Post update
Penalty missed! Bad penalty by Malaury Martin (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot is high and wide to the right. Malaury Martin should be disappointed.
Post update
Penalty saved! Declan McManus (Dunfermline Athletic) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the centre of the goal.
Goal!
Goal! Heart of Midlothian 2(1), Dunfermline Athletic 2(2). Kyle Lafferty (Heart of Midlothian) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Goal!
Goal! Heart of Midlothian 2, Dunfermline Athletic 2(2). Scott Lochhead (Dunfermline Athletic) converts the penalty with a left footed shot to the top left corner.
Post update
Penalty missed! Bad penalty by Jordan McGhee (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot is too high. Jordan McGhee should be disappointed.
Goal!
Goal! Heart of Midlothian 2, Dunfermline Athletic 2(1). Michael Paton (Dunfermline Athletic) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner.
Penalties in progress
Penalty Shootout begins Heart of Midlothian 2, Dunfermline Athletic 2.
Full Time
Second Half ends, Heart of Midlothian 2, Dunfermline Athletic 2.
Post update
Attempt missed. Cole Stockton (Heart of Midlothian) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is high and wide to the right.
Post update
Corner, Heart of Midlothian. Conceded by Lee Ashcroft.
Post update
Corner, Heart of Midlothian. Conceded by Lewis Martin.
Post update
Corner, Heart of Midlothian. Conceded by Nathaniel Wedderburn.
Substitution
Substitution, Dunfermline Athletic. Jean-Yves Mvoto replaces Joe Cardle.
Goal!
Goal! Heart of Midlothian 2, Dunfermline Athletic 2. Esmael Gonçalves (Heart of Midlothian) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner.
Booking
Scott Lochhead (Dunfermline Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Comments
Join the conversation
He was a shockingly poor club and national Manager, and this leads him to be a terrible Dir of Football. A stubborn and arrogant man who I doubt will want to admit he is wrong.
Almost felt sorry for Cathro after the game. This could be a career killer.
Scottish football...... who cares?.
We do, yes our league is tiny, poorly funded and freezing most of the time. What we have though is passion, atmosphere and we remain grounded about the players we have. Unlike some nations where a player is suddenly worth 50m just because he is a certain nationality. We also have the luxury of having players, managers and fans from our own country.
Just sayin.
I think the step up from coaching just came too soon for Cathro. He's got great/diverse coaching experience for someone of his age, and Nagelsmann has shown age isn't neccessarily a barrier to success. But the step up just seems to have been a bridge too far for Cathro.
I hope he comes good one day. But, I want to see a competitive league with real competition - at least for 2nd...
We'll said mate. Not to sure if people are aware of this but per capita ratio Scottish Football has one of the highest attendences in Europe. What we have in Scotland is great fans with a great knowledge of the game and as Scotland is quite a small country we have friends and cross overs into other teams that we may argue but really we are protective of each other.
Move on and read up on your WWF Wrestling All glitter and bells n whistles English Prem rubbish league. Your embarrassing yourself.