Hearts head coach Steven Naismith believes their recent progress and hunger for trophies will give them a chance against Rangers at Hampden after his side booked a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final place with a 1-0 win over Morton at Cappielow.
Naismith’s side were immediately handed a repeat of their Viaplay Cup semi-final, which Rangers won 3-1 in November, in the draw for the last four.
Hearts are looking to reach their fourth Scottish Cup final in six years, but Naismith and his players are determined to go one better and seal their first triumph in the tournament since 2012.
Naismith said: “Fortunately we have been in a semi-final before this season so we have got to use that. And we will look forward to it, you work hard to get through the rounds to get to the latter stages.
“We have had a good bit of progression since the last semi-final, we want to progress again and give ourselves a chance to win it.
“You have got to have that demand and hunger to win trophies and we are building that, so hopefully we can have a good day.”
Naismith’s side survived some pressure at Cappielow and advanced thanks to an angled drive from Kenneth Vargas in the 86th minute.
“Coming away from home at probably one of the toughest grounds you will go to, we know what it was going to be like,” he said.
“It was about taking the emotion out of the game and having a clear picture out of possession when they are going to be a bit direct – every throw-in, corner, set-play was going to get a reaction from the crowd. It was about understanding that and not panicking, which I thought we did really well.
“We should have scored earlier, but the key was patience. Our control of the ball, especially the second half, was really good, which ultimately led to three or four good chances.”
Hearts needed goalkeeper Craig Gordon to be at his best and the 41-year-old made three impressive saves to keep his first clean sheet since recovering from a double leg break.
“I’ve said it all along, he’s back to where he was before,” Naismith said. “He’s worked really hard, got a drive and his experience in coming for balls and taking the pressure off is invaluable. But it is brilliant to have two great goalies.”
Morton manager Dougie Imrie felt his side deserved to be heading to Hampden.
Imrie said: “I stand here extremely proud of them. At times we went toe to toe with a top Premiership team.
“They will know themselves they are lucky to be in the semi-finals. I thought we deserved to be in there, but unfortunately we just fell short.”
Morton’s focus now turns to staying in the cinch Championship’s top four and sealing a play-off place.
“We are in a great position,” Imrie said. “We have a tough game on Saturday away at Partick, but after that we’ve got two or three games on the bounce at home and we have to take advantage of that.”
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Pirlo sacked as Sampdoria head coach after dismal Serie B start
Andrea Pirlo has been sacked as Sampdoria's head coach after just over a season at the helm.
Pirlo, who managed Juventus for the 2020-21 campaign, has been relieved of his duties after an underwhelming start to their Serie B season.
After finishing seventh in Italy's second tier last term, the 45-year-old was given the green light to try and return to Serie A at the second time of asking.
However, an opening day draw with Frosinone was followed up with back-to-back defeats to Reggiana and Salernitana, leaving them second-bottom in the division.
During his time in charge, Pirlo won 18 of his 45 matches in charge (D10 L17), averaging 1.42 points per game, a total only bettered by his time with Juventus (2.15).
Sampdoria return to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris this weekend in search of their first three points of the season, welcoming Bari to Genoa on Saturday.
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