Ellis Simms reveals cruel Wembley blow fuelling his Hearts Hampden dream ahead of Hibs showdown

If Hearts decide to run through a penalty drill before Saturday’s Hampden date with Hibs then don’t be surprised if Ellis Simms is nowhere to be seen.

The Jambos striker doesn’t have any worries about being put on the spot - he just knows from painful recent experience that practice doesn’t always pay off ahead of a national stadium outing.

Hearts may need little more motivation to keep their Scottish Cup dream alive than the chance to leave their arch rivals broken in the semi-final.

But for Simms there’s a personal anguish fuelling his desire for glory.

Last May the Everton loanee suffered the ultimate bittersweet moment as he helped fire Blackpool to the League 1 play-off final with two goals against Oxford - then had to watch from the sidelines at Wembley after picking up an injury in training a day before the final.

The fact it was while practising penalties with his team mates at the end of the final session before heading to London made it all the more cruel.

It’s a frustration that still eats away at Simms.

But 11 months on he is fully aware he has a chance to erase his Wembley woe with a little magic in Mount Florida with the Jambos.

The 21-year-old striker recalled: “That was massively frustrating. The day before the final I picked up an injury, right at the end of the final session before we went to Wembley.

“We were practising penalties. I took one and felt a pain in my groin.

“It was just a proper innocuous thing and I tried everything but it was too painful. It was a massive opportunity to play in a final at Wembley and, obviously, I was completely gutted.

“It was frustrating as hell to be honest.

“We won the game, which was great. It had been a great run we had. So when the frustration died down I was