Beau Reus proved to be the decisive factor when his two penalty saves helped Hearts overturn a red card setback and clinch a dramatic shoot‑out win against Rapid Vienna away from home. The victory, secured after a 4‑4 aggregate stalemate, ensured the Scottish side’s return to the group stage of the UEFA Conference League.
The tie began with a 2‑2 draw at Tynecastle in the first leg, leaving the Jambos with a slim chance of progressing. The second leg appeared to be slipping away when, in the 75th minute, Tomas Magnusson received a second yellow card and was sent off, reducing Hearts to ten men while they trailed following Ercan Kara’s opening goal in the first half.
However, the team’s fortunes changed almost immediately. Substitute Landry Kabore rose to the occasion, finding the net just minutes after the dismissal to level the score.
The drama intensified in extra‑time when Calvin Miller struck a powerful volley in the 100th minute, giving Hearts a fleeting lead. Rapid Vienna responded in the dying moments of the match, with Nenad Cvetković heading in Moulaye Haidara’s cross in the 119th minute, which forced the contest into a penalty shoot‑out. In the ensuing spot‑kick duel, Hearts held their nerve, converting four of their attempts.
Miller, Jordi Altena, Rogers Mato and Sabah Kerjota all found the back of the net, while Oisin McEntee was the sole Jambo to miss. Reus’s composure between the posts proved vital; he denied two Rapid kicks, sealing a 4‑3 shoot‑out triumph and delivering Hearts’ most impressive European result in over twenty years. This success guarantees the club a place in the Conference League for the third time in the past five seasons. Manager Wouter Vrancken made a single alteration to the starting eleven that featured in the first leg, swapping James Wilson in for Kabore in the attacking line‑up.
Rapid Vienna sought to dominate early, with Yusuf Demir and Tonni Adamsen testing Reus within the opening ten minutes. Hearts suffered an early blow when Tom Renaud was forced off after a clash with Rapid forward Petter Dahl, who fell awkwardly on his leg following a challenge by Jordi Altena.
Magnusson came on for the injured Frenchman, but the Scottish side struggled to find rhythm as the Austrians appeared the stronger side. The breakthrough arrived in the 34th minute: Demir’s low drive from the right edge of the box glanced off Oisin McEntee and fell kindly to an unmarked Ercan Kara, who calmly slotted the ball from the six‑yard line.
Hearts almost equalised when Braga capitalised on a loose pass, but his angled strike from inside the area was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Niklas Hedl. Demir later curled a shot just wide from distance, and Kara missed a close‑range effort from the edge of the box, keeping the visitors in contention.
The home side generated pressure late in the first half, with Josh McPake and McEntee attempting long‑range efforts. The second half saw captain Blair Spittal unleash a 20‑yard volley that drifted just wide, while both Wilson and Braga squandered chances. Magnusson then headed a close‑range opportunity wide from a Spittal free‑kick, only to receive a second yellow card for a trip on Jannes Horn in the 76th minute, reducing Hearts to ten men. Kabore, introduced as a substitute, responded instantly.
He adjusted his body and chest‑controlled a corner from Spittal, directing it into the near post to restore parity within three minutes of the dismissal. The momentum swung further in Hearts’ favour when Miller, in the 100th minute, volleyed home a cross delivered by substitute Rogers Mato, giving the Jambos a temporary lead. Yet the drama was not over.
Rapid Vienna’s Nenad Cvetković rose highest to head in Moulaye Haidara’s cross in the 119th minute, leveling the aggregate score and sending the tie to penalties. In the shoot‑out, Hearts displayed composure: Miller, Altena, Mato and Kerjota all converted, while McEntee’s miss proved costly for the Scottish side. Reus’s two crucial saves ultimately crowned him the hero of the night. After the match, Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken spoke to BBC Sport, reflecting on the team's performance: "We played a really bad first half, a little bit similar to what we did in Benfica.
We had a game plan and we didn't show the guts to follow through. 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."