Hearts felt the absence of captain Lawrence Shankland as they edged a 2-1 victory over Spartans in the Scottish Cup fourth round. The Tynecastle side needed a stoppage-time winner from defender Frankie Kent to progress after being frustrated for long spells by their League Two hosts.
Kenneth Vargas headed Hearts in front in the first half, but James Craigen forced a second-half equaliser to spark a dramatic ending. Kent rose to head home a corner in the dying moments and spare the visitors blushes. They were without Shankland due to illness and his scoring instincts were missed.
Spartans stuck to a well-drilled gameplan and stayed brilliantly in shape to frustrate Hearts for much of the afternoon in front of a capacity crowd at Ainslie Park. When their one big chance arrived, Craigen produced a clinical finish. The League Two outfit had their Premiership guests unsettled and scrambling to force a winner late on until Kent struck.
The opening goal arrived inside 12 minutes when Vargas nodded a precise header high into the net from Jorge Grant's cross. It was the Costa Rican's third goal in his last three competitive outings and gave Hearts the early initiative.
Craig Gordon played from the start for Hearts in his first competitive outing since a double leg-break in December 2022. Demonstrating that his trademark reflexes remain in tact, he sprung into the air to touch a powerful 20-yard shot from the Spartans defender Callum Booth over the crossbar after 21 minutes.
At the opposite end, a confident low save from the impressive Ainslie Park goalkeeper Blair Carswell stopped Alan Forrest's effort. Carswell blocked again on 42 minutes when Vargas should have added a second goal for Hearts. The visitors needed another goal to put this tie beyond their League Two opponents.
Vargas forced Carswell across to his left for another good save early in the second half as Spartans continued to stay compact. They emerged only occasionally to break forward, whilst Hearts enjoyed a monopoly of possession.
The Tynecastle side introduced Dexter Lembikisa, recently signed on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, for his debut in maroon on the hour mark. Striker James Wilson, still only 16, also came off the bench for his first senior appearance. What they needed in front of goal was Shankland to put this game to bed.
Moments later, the equaliser arrived. Booth took a corner which came back out to him and his second delivery landed near the edge of the Hearts penalty area. Craigen returned it with interest beyond Gordon to pull the part-time side level with their Premiership opponents. At that stage Spartans' gameplan was working and it was very much game on in Pilton.
Hearts went in search of a winner. Carswell was alive again to push Lembikisa's strike behind at his near post. From the resultant corner by Alex Cochrane, Kent headed the game's decisive goal down into the corner of the net on 91 minutes. Finally, Hearts could take their place in the Scottish Cup's fifth round, the draw for which takes place on Sunday evening.
Here are the Hearts player ratings from Ainslie Park:
1. GK: Craig Gordon
6/10 First competitive game in more than a year. Good first-half save to stop Callum Booth's effort.
2. RCB: Frankie Kent
7/10 Composed on the ball and tried to initiate attacks. Vital header to win the game.
4. LCB: Stephen Kingsley
6/10 Ventured out of defence to play some probing balls forward.