🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Hearts overcome Hibs at Hampden to book cup final berth | OneFootball

Two stunning first half strikes from Hearts saw them book their place in the Scottish Cup final at the expense of their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.

Scorers: Simms 16, Kingsley 21′; Cadden 22′

An explosive contest kicked into life after 16 minutes when Paul McGinn was caught in possession and the ball fell for Ellis Simms on the edge of the area to unleash an unstoppable effort into the corner.

Five minutes later, things got even better for the Jambos, who have never lost a Scottish Cup meeting with their old nemesis at Hampden, when Stephen Kingsley played a clever one-two with Liam Boyce from a free-kick, collecting the return and curling beyond Matt Macey for another sublime strike.

Hibs’ despair turned to hope within 75 seconds though as Lewis Stevenson managed to wriggle into the area down the left and his cross eventually found its way to Chris Cadden, who scored at the second attempt after his first was blocked.

Shaun Maloney’s side were massively improved after the break and came so close to an equaliser when the returning Ryan Porteous saw a header turned on to the post thanks to a fine diving save from Craig Gordon.

However, all of their good second half work was undone with 25 minutes left when Joe Newell’s foolish late lunge on Peter Haring saw him sent off and it proved too high a mountain to climb after that.

The result means Hearts reach the final and also secure guaranteed European group stage football next season too, with Celtic or Rangers to join them in the Hampden showpiece.