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.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
Former Spain boss Del Bosque to oversee RFEF
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque will oversee a new committee supervising the RFEF.
Spain, which is due to be one of six host countries for the 2030 World Cup, announced the creation of a special committee until the federation holds elections to replace Luis Rubiales.
That is despite Pedro Rocha having this week been appointed as Rubiales' replacement, though he himself is under investigation amid a corruption probe.
Rubiales was dismissed following his unsolicited kiss on Jenni Hermoso during the Women's World Cup trophy ceremony in 2023.
The federation's former president was then arrested in early April as part of a corruption investigation.
Del Bosque led Spain to three consecutive trophies, winning the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, while also leading the team to their first World Cup success in 2010.
Prior to his time with the national team, he also won two Champions Leagues and two LaLiga titles while in charge of Real Madrid, where he made over 400 appearances as a player.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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