Beau Reus proved to be the decisive factor when his two penalty‑stop performances helped Hearts overturn a red card setback and clinch a thrilling shoot‑out victory against Rapid Vienna away from home. The win, which came after a 4‑4 aggregate stalemate, secured the Scottish side’s place in the group stage of the UEFA Conference League.
The first leg at Tynecastle had ended in a 2‑2 draw, setting the stage for a tense second‑leg encounter in Vienna. Hearts’ European hopes appeared to be dwindling when, in the 75th minute of the play‑off second leg, they were reduced to ten men following a second yellow card for Tomas Magnusson. At that point, the Jambos were already trailing after Ercan Kara had found the net in the first half. The situation changed quickly.
Substitute Landry Kabore rose to the occasion, leveling the score a few minutes after the dismissal. The drama intensified in extra time when Calvin Miller volleyed home to give Hearts a one‑goal advantage in the 10th minute of the added period. However, Rapid Vienna responded in the dying moments of the match, with Nenad Cvetković heading in a cross from Moulaye Haidara in the 119th minute, forcing the tie into a penalty shoot‑out. In the ensuing spot‑kick contest, Hearts edged Rapid 4‑3, thanks in large part to Reus’s heroics between the posts.
Miller, Jordi Altena, Rogers Mato and Sabah Kerjota all converted for the Scottish side, while Oisin McEntee was the only player to miss. Reus’s two saves sealed the victory and delivered Hearts’ most impressive European result in over twenty years, guaranteeing a third Conference League appearance in the past five seasons. Manager Wouter Vrancken made a single alteration to the starting eleven from the first leg, bringing James Wilson in for Kabore in the attacking line‑up.
Rapid Vienna wasted no time in asserting pressure, with Yusuf Demir and Tonni Adamsen testing Reus within the opening ten minutes. Hearts suffered an early blow in the 15th minute when Tom Renaud was forced off after a collision with Rapid forward Petter Dahl, who had been fouled by Jordi Altena. Magnusson came on for the injured Frenchman, but the Jambos struggled to find rhythm as the Austrians appeared the stronger side. The deadlock was finally broken in the 34th minute when Demir’s low drive from the right wing glanced off Oisin McEntee and fell kindly to the unmarked Kara, who slotted home from the edge of the six‑yard box.
Hearts almost equalised when Braga capitalised on a loose ball, but his angled strike from inside the area was denied by Niklas Hedl. Demir continued to menace from distance, curling a shot just wide, while Kara tested the keeper again with a miss‑hit from the edge of the box. Towards the end of the first half, Hearts applied pressure of their own, with Josh McPake and McEntee attempting long‑range efforts that forced saves.
The second half saw the Jambos maintain their forward thrust. Captain Blair Spittal unleashed a volley from 20 yards that drifted just beyond the post, and both Wilson and Braga squandered chances that could have shifted momentum.
Magnusson later headed a close‑range effort wide from a Spittal free‑kick, only to see his night cut short when he received a second yellow card for a foul on Jannes Horn in the 76th minute, reducing Hearts to ten men. Remarkably, the short‑handed side responded almost immediately.
Within three minutes, Kabore, who had come on as a substitute, adjusted his positioning and chested a corner delivered by Spittal into the near post, restoring parity. The match then entered a nerve‑wracking period of extra time. In the 100th minute, Miller rose to the occasion again, volleying in a cross from substitute Rogers Mato to give Hearts a fleeting lead. Just when the Jambos seemed poised to hold on, Rapid struck back in the 119th minute.
Cvetković met a cross from Haidara with a decisive header, sending the tie to penalties. The ensuing shoot‑out saw Hearts convert four of their spot‑kicks, with McEntee the sole miss, while Reus’s two crucial saves ensured the Scottish side’s triumph. After the match, Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken spoke to BBC Sport about his team’s performance: "We played a really bad first half, a little bit similar as we did in Benfica.
We had a game plan and we didn't show the guts to follow up. We were already pretty angry at half‑time, and we came out, we did much better. We took the game in our hands, we were dominant at that moment. They have to learn that they're a good team, that they're good players, that they can show it and show the guts every time, every week, every game.
Because in the last away games in Europe, you see that they're a little bit scared to do things, to take risks or to give spaces away. Then we don't play our game. But the progress of the team is amazing. The team spirit, I saw it from the first session.
They want to learn. They wanted to have feedback, they want to go into it and the kind of football we played. This is the result, they get rewarded, and I'm so happy for them."