Hearts beat Rapid Vienna on penalties in Vienna to reach Conference League league phase
Hearts beat Rapid Vienna on penalties in Vienna in the Conference League play-off on 26 August, winning 4-3 in the shootout to reach the competition's league phase and secure a place in Friday's league phase draw.
A mere three months after a final-day defeat on 16 May that denied them a first Scottish top-flight title in 66 years, Hearts have a tangible reward for finishing runners-up, despite a summer of turnover that brought a new head coach, Belgian Wouter Vrancken, multiple arrivals and departures. The 2026-27 campaign began poorly with European and domestic setbacks, including a 3-1 defeat by Celtic, a heavy 6-0 aggregate loss to Sturm Graz in the Champions League second qualifying round and a 7-1 aggregate defeat to Benfica in the Europa League qualifiers.
Hearts had drawn 2-2 in the first leg and arrived in Austria without a lead, with Rapid Vienna taking a 1-0 advantage on the night through Ercan Kara at the Allianz Stadion. A red card for Tomas Magnusson preceded Pierre Landry Kabore's equaliser that forced the tie into extra time.
In extra time Calvin Miller's volley almost won the tie for Hearts before Nenad Cvetkovic levelled for Rapid on 119 minutes. The shootout swung back and forth: Beau Reus saved Moulaye Haidara, Oisin McEntee had his spot-kick blocked, Marco Tilio stepped up, and Reus produced the decisive stop to secure a 4-3 penalty victory for Hearts.
Vrancken reflected on the team's short-term progress and mentality, telling BBC Scotland: "They have to learn that they're a good team, that they're good players, that they can show it." He added: "The development of the team, the progress of the team is amazing. The team spirit, I saw it from the first session already. They want to learn it. They wanted to have feedback. They want to go into it and the kind of football we played. This is the result. They get rewarded and I'm so happy for them."
He also addressed the match itself, saying: "When you see the game, we played a really bad first half, a little bit similar as we did in Benfica. We made agreements, we had a game plan and we didn't follow up, we didn't show the guts to follow up. When you play against a side like Rapid Vienna, when you don't show it, they can play through you. We were already pretty angry at half-time and we came out, we did much better. We took the game in our hands, we were dominant at that moment. This is already a mental strength, coming back on 1-0 down and coming back like this. Again, in the extra time, you try to take the game with you to Hearts and to Edinburgh, then you get a mental kick again in the last minute of the extra time. Again, I'm so proud of these guys that they stay in the game, focused and concentrated to win the penalties. We can make more steps in the coming weeks and hope that we can take the steps as soon as possible."
Vrancken also confirmed a first-half injury to Tom Renaud, calling it "the biggest disappointment of the evening." He said: "It's not looking good but I hope for him that it's OK. We have to look there because he was also really good in the last game. We're talking every day about those things and we'll see in the next weeks."
Progress in Europe brings financial rewards and may prompt further transfer activity in the closing days of the window; Hearts have already signed 12 new players this summer while even more have departed. With at least six more European fixtures to play this season, former Hearts player Ryan Stevenson said on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound: "I think they'll definitely need to bring in another two or three anyway when you look at the League Cup, the six games in Europe, the league, which is so important." Allan Preston added: "They've got people ready to come if they're needed. They are ready. They don't wait until things happen. They already do things. If they need to, they'll be pushing the button before the transfer window closes. They will get better, they'll produce better."
