Kenneth Vargas hit a late winner as Hearts came through a difficult encounter at Cappielow to reach the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-finals.
The Coast Rican forward fired home in the 86th minute to secure a 1-0 victory over Morton, who had been denied several times by some impressive Craig Gordon saves.
Hearts began to find their attacking form in the final half hour and Vargas powered home a low angled drive after Beni Baningime drove forward and fed Lawrence Shankland.
The victory seals a second semi-final for Steven Naismith’s side this season and leaves them 90 minutes away from a potential fourth Scottish Cup final in six seasons.
The match pitted two of Scotland’s recent in-form sides against each other. Morton had gone on a 16-match unbeaten run, which took them from bottom of the cinch Championship into the promotion play-off places, before suffering home defeats against Inverness and Dundee United in their previous two matches.
Although manager Dougie Imrie had lost the likes of George Oakley, Iain Wilson and Jai Quitongo since the fifth-round win over Motherwell, former Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot returned from injury to take his place in the back three.
Hearts had won 12 of their previous 15 games and had Vargas back in their line-up after the attacker missed their victory over Celtic.
Morton signalled their intent to test Hearts in the air when Lewis Strapp hurled an early throw-in into the box from 10 yards inside the visiting half.
Another ball into the Hearts box drew the first chance as Gordon used his frame to block Darragh O’Connor’s header following an Alan Power free-kick.
The away supporters had to wait until the half-hour mark before seeing their team come close – Shankland’s first-time shot on the turn was pushed wide by Ryan Mullen.
Alan Forrest saw two efforts deflected wide and Morton were forced deep in the latter stages of the half, but Gordon had to watch Robbie Muirhead’s free-kick as it bounced into his arms.
Both sides stepped up their attacking threat at the start of the second half.
Morton had some initial pressure, but Hearts midfielder Baningime missed the chance of the game so far when he sent a free header over the crossbar from Stephen Kingsley’s cross.
The home side responded by creating two equally strong opportunities.
Gordon pulled off excellent stops from Jack Baird’s header and Strapp’s effort after the left-back had burst into the box.
Mullen was also impressing in the opposite goal and he produced a diving save from Cammy Devlin’s strike from 18 yards.
The game had the sort of edge expected of the occasion and former Morton loan star Shankland was booked for pushing Strapp to the ground in front of the “cowshed” as the home fans shouted for David Dickinson to wave a red card.
The Scotland striker was being watched by international manager Steve Clarke ahead of him naming his latest squad and he set up Vargas for an excellent chance after initially looking like he might get in behind himself.
Vargas had time to pick his spot from 10 yards, but lifted the ball on to the top of the bar and over.
Shankland then set up Aidan Denholm but the substitute shot straight at Mullen, who trapped the ball between his legs.
The skipper would have a major say in the winner though as he collected Baningime’s pass and allowed Vargas to take over.
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford: Two-goal Gray rescues point for Rooney's side
Andre Gray scored twice against his former club to salvage a point for struggling Plymouth Argyle as they drew 2-2 with Watford on Friday.
Gray curled in an equaliser in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time to seal a crucial point for Wayne Rooney's side in their bid for survival in the Championship.
The visitors made a quick start at Home Park when Ivorian striker Vakoun Bayo bundled in a cross from Yasser Larouci only eight minutes in.
Plymouth did, however, equalise against the run of play in the 23rd minute when Lewis Gibson's long ball into the box was met with a spectacular volley from Gray.
Watford regained the lead before the break when Imran Louza's free-kick was knocked back by Mattie Pollock, with centre-back Ryan Porteous on hand to steer the ball home.
But just as it looked like Watford would go home with all three points, Gray picked up the ball on the edge of the area and fired home a stunning effort beyond Daniel Bachmann.
Tom Cleverley's Watford sit in fifth place and trail leaders Sunderland by five points, while Plymouth are 17th with 17 points from 16 matches.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
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