Ten-man Hearts beat Rapid Vienna on penalties to reach Conference League
Hearts defeated Rapid Vienna on penalties in Vienna on 26 August 2026 to win their Conference League playoff second leg after the tie finished 2-2 after extra time and 4-3 in the shootout. The Jambos played the closing stages with 10 men after Tomas Magnusson was sent off and advanced when Rapid’s goalkeeper Beau Reus saved two spot-kicks.
The tie followed a 2-2 draw in the first leg at Tynecastle, leaving the aggregate score level before the second leg in Vienna. Rapid took the lead through Ercan Kara in the 34th minute, but Hearts were not eliminated after Landry Kaboré levelled in the 79th and Calvin Miller put them ahead in extra time. Nenad Cvetkovic struck in the 119th minute to force penalties, where Hearts prevailed 4-3.
An early disruption came in the 15th minute when Tom Renaud was carried off after Petter Dahl fell awkwardly while being fouled by Jordi Altena; Magnusson replaced the injured Frenchman. Rapid opened the scoring in the 34th minute when Demir’s low shot from the right took a nick off Oisin McEntee and the unmarked Kara slotted the rebound into the net from six yards. Claudio Braga then had a chance for Hearts but his angled effort was pushed away by Niklas Hedl, and Hearts finished the half with shots from Josh McPake and McEntee.
After the interval Blair Spittal volleyed narrowly wide from 20 yards and James Wilson and Braga both failed to convert opportunities. Magnusson headed wide from a Spittal free-kick before his evening ended in the 76th minute when he received a second yellow card for a trip on Jannes Horn. Despite being down to 10 men, Hearts drew level inside three minutes when Kaboré adjusted his body and chested Spittal’s corner into the net at the near post.
Extra time brought a dramatic shift as Hearts went ahead in the 100th minute when Calvin Miller acrobatically volleyed in a cross from substitute Rogers Mato. Rapid responded in the 119th minute when Nenad Cvetkovic nodded in Moulaye Haidara’s cross to make the aggregate score 4-4 and send the match to penalties.
In the shootout Miller, Jordi Altena, Mato and Sabah Kerjota scored for Hearts while Oisin McEntee was the only Hearts player to miss. Beau Reus saved two penalties, denying Moulaye Haidara and Marco Tilio, and Hearts edged the shootout 4-3 to progress.
The victory secures Hearts a place in the Conference League proper for the third time in five seasons and brought welcome relief for manager Wouter Vrancken after a difficult run in Europe that included a 6-0 aggregate defeat to Sturm Graz in the Champions League qualifiers, a 6-1 loss in Lisbon and a 7-2 aggregate reverse to Benfica in the Europa League which had dropped them into the playoffs.