Hearts secure European group football – 5 things we learned from semi-final win

Hearts beat Hibernian 2-1 to reach their third Scottish Cup final in four seasons.

All the goals came in a six-minute first-half spell, with 10-man Hibs unable to find an equaliser after Chris Cadden had responded to expert strikes from Ellis Simms and Stephen Kingsley.

Here are five things we learned from the Hampden action.

Having already wrapped up third place in the league and with top two Celtic and Rangers in the other semi-final, victory saw Hearts seal the favoured European slot outside the Champions League. Hearts will go straight into the Europa League play-offs and even defeat will send them into the Europa Conference League groups. It will be the first time in 18 years that the club have entered the group stage in Europe and the first time in 15 years that any Scottish club outside of Celtic and Rangers have done so, since Aberdeen’s run to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.

The multi-million-pound European boost could help Hearts strengthen their stranglehold on the Edinburgh derby fixture. That is now six derbies unbeaten for Hearts, who beat Hibs at the same stage in the delayed 2020 Scottish Cup after being relegated to the Championship. Hibernian manager Shaun Maloney admitted he had instructed his team to be more physical after the previous weekend’s 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle, which consigned his side to a bottom-six finish, but they lacked a cutting edge at times. Many Hibs fans gave their side a warm ovation afterwards, but the five empty blocks of seats, contrasting with a full Hearts end, told a story of the relative current strength of the clubs.

Joe Newell took his manager’s instructions too far. Having been booked early on for a foul on Barrie McKay, the midfielder walked a fine disciplinary line before