Falkirk storm Tynecastle in dramatic Scottish Cup tie as key Hearts man suffers injury ahead of Celtic clash

Following a pulsating 1-1 draw, John McGlynn's Bairns prevailed 5-4 in the shoot-out. New signing Ben Parkinson - who opened the scoring - netted the decisive spot-kick, with Hearts' Elton Kabangu the fall guy after sending his penalty high and wide. He was the only man to miss.

It will be a sore defeat for Hearts, who will now focus on winning the league title. They have a six-point advantage over Celtic and Rangers going into the final third of the campaign.

For the first time this season, Cammy Devlin's name was absent from the Hearts team sheet. The Australian is out for at least six weeks following an ankle injury and he will miss some key matches - including three crucial Premiership matches against Celtic, Hibs and Rangers. Manager Derek McInnes trialled Harry Milne, usually a left-back, in the engine room in a 4-3-3 formation.

Hearts did miss the Australian's tenacity, although they dominated most of the ball in the first half without really creating a moment of note. A well-organised Falkirk defence kept the dangerous home front three of Lawrence Shankland, Claudio Braga and Alexandros Kyziridis quiet.

Their manager McGlynn recognised that his team carried little threat and made a triple substitution at the break. Two of his replacements linked up to great effect to open the scoring on 59 minutes. Kyrell Wilson drove down the right flank and fizzed a low ball across the goalmouth for Parkinson to bundle into the net. A near-2,000 strong Falkirk away support celebrated exuberantly.

Hearts had put the ball in the net six minutes earlier through Tomas Magnusson but the Icelander was penalised for handball. It heightened the sense of frustration among the Tynecastle faithful.

Chesnokov makes his debut

McInnes threw on Landry Kabore and debutant Islam Chesnokov to freshen up his forward line and after a period of sustained pressure, Falkirk finally cracked. Chesnokov latched on to a lofted ball into the penalty area and tried to drive past Leon McCann, only for the visiting left-back to foul him. It was a clear penalty and Shankland converted high down the middle to make it 1-1 with seven minutes remained.

Hearts pushed for a winner in regulation time but a wobbly Falkirk clung on and we entered an extra 30 minutes.

The game slowed a little, and Hearts suffered a blow when Shankland pulled up clutching his hamstring. He was replaced by Elton Kabangu and McInnes will desperately hope that his captain and talismanic forward will be fit to face Celtic in the league next Sunday.

Falkirk finished extra time the stronger and Hearts keeper Alexander Schwolow made a big save in 116 minutes to deny Louie Marsh from close range. It was the final chance of the game and the penalty shoot-out was upon us.

The kicks were taken in front of the Falkirk end. Hearts went first, with Blair Spittal, Alexandros Kyziridis, Kabore, and Harry Milne scoring, while Kabangu fired over netting. Brad Spencer, Liam Henderson, Brian Graham, Dylan Tait and Parkinson were foot-perfect to ensure progression.