Heart of Midlothian saw off Stenhousemuir 3-0 in the League Cup quarter-finals at Ochilview Park on Thursday evening. The visitors took control early and never looked back, booking their place in the last four. We had backed the home side at 38 per cent confidence, but the match took a different path entirely.
J. Williams broke the deadlock in the 35th minute, finishing a move that Stenhousemuir failed to clear properly. R. Mato doubled the advantage four minutes later, capitalising on loose defending just before the interval. L. Grant picked up a yellow card in the tenth minute, then was substituted at the restart after a poor first half.
Stenhousemuir struggled to create anything meaningful. They managed only two shots on target compared to seven for the visitors, and their possession figure of 34 per cent told its own story. The hosts had one corner to ten and couldn't get behind the Hearts back line consistently.
Y. Dhanda put the result beyond doubt in the 74th minute, rounding off a comfortable night for the visitors. Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with Hearts bringing on R. Mato and H. Milne together in the 72nd minute. Stenhousemuir made three changes at the break, including bringing on A. Shinnie.
The statistics paint a straightforward picture. Hearts dominated attacks 108 to 84 and controlled possession comfortably. Stenhousemuir had no big chances created and couldn't find the net despite having four saves to make. The visitors were more clinical, converting three opportunities from their seven shots on target.
Heart of Midlothian now face quarter-final winners in the semi-finals. Stenhousemuir's recent form—five consecutive wins—was not enough to trouble a side that looked comfortable throughout. The hosts will need to regroup quickly for league action.