Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon made his first appearance in 13 months as Hearts scrambled into the fifth round of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup following a stoppage-time Frankie Kent winner away to cinch League Two side Spartans.
The Jambos looked set for a smooth afternoon against their Edinburgh counterparts when Kenneth Vargas opened the scoring in the 13th minute but a stunning equaliser from James Craigen had the part-time hosts dreaming of a famous result.
Centre-back Kent, however, picked the perfect moment to score his first goal for the Jambos to secure a 2-1 victory and spare his team-mates and manager Steven Naismith from what would have been stinging criticism.
Gordon, playing his first match since suffering a career-threatening double leg-break on Christmas Eve of 2022, was handed the captaincy on his return, with Lawrence Shankland – skipper in the goalkeeper’s absence – missing out through injury.
Hearts’ new right-back Dexter Lembikisa, who joined on loan from Wolves earlier this month, was named among the substitutes and would come on in the 59th minute.
Gordon had such a comfortable opening to proceedings that by the time he first touched the ball his team had already moved into a 13th-minute lead through Vargas.
The Costa Rican forward was perfectly stationed at the back post to nod in from six yards out following an inswinging cross from the left by Alan Forrest.
Hearts dominated possession early on but Gordon was called into action in the 21st minute when he acrobatically tipped over a powerful, swerving 20-yard strike from Callum Booth.
The Jambos remained on top, however, and Forrest saw a couple of low shots from the edge of the box in quick succession saved by Spartans keeper Blair Carswell, whose father Allan was the Hearts goalkeeping coach when the Jambos last won the Scottish Cup 12 years ago.
At the other end, a promising attack brought a rare sight of goal for Spartans but Jamie Dishington shot high over from 25 yards out.
Vargas looked set to double his tally just before the break when he got on the end of a lovely clipped cross from Alex Cochrane in a central position 10 yards out but the forward was denied by an excellent save from Carswell.
The Spartans keeper then produced another impressive stop to keep out Vargas’s shot from the edge of the box early in the second half.
Kent then headed wide from Jorge Grant’s corner before Cochrane saw a shot from distance saved by the outstanding Carswell.
Hearts were made to rue their inability to find a second goal when Craigen volleyed home a magnificent equaliser from the edge of the box, with Gordon left rooted to the spot as the ball flew into his top right-hand corner.
With Spartans generally holding firm in the face of Hearts’ pressure in the closing stages, the tie looked all set for extra time until Kent nodded in Cochrane’s corner.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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