Jamie Hamill went from hero to villain as Hearts suffered more pain in their most difficult season as nine-man Inverness reached the League Cup final with a dramatic penalty shoot-out win yesterday after the match had ended in a 2-2 draw.
Hamill scored from two free-kicks inside three minutes in response to Greg Tansey’s spectacular 54th-minute strike at Easter Road, and Hearts looked destined to face Aberdeen in the final when Josh Meekings joined fellow Inverness centre-back Gary Warren in an early bath as the 90 minutes elapsed.
But Nick Ross scrambled an unlikely equaliser in the fifth minute of injury-time and Inverness comfortably held out in extra-time before triumphing in the spot-kicks battle after Hamill’s miss handed them the advantage.
Ross Draper secured a 4-2 shoot-out success to send the Highland outfit into their first major final.
Caley Thistle’s win turned the tables following their shoot-out defeat by 10-man Hearts at the same stage and stadium last year and it denied the administration-hit Edinburgh side a much-needed financial boost.
Scottish Premiership: Celtic vs St Mirren 1-0.