Heart of Midlothian

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Hearts head coach Neil Critchley, his players and the home fans will be left wondering how they did not take their chance to move up to fifth place before city rivals Hibs faced St Mirren in Sunday's afternoon kick-off.

It looked like they would badly miss the industrious Cammy Devlin, absent in midfield through concussion, as Rangers threatened early down the wings.

However, once Hearts settled, the visitors looked there for the taking, appearing vulnerable in defence and shot of confidence following last week's cup exit.

On-loan Union St Gilloise striker Elton Kabangu should have had a first-half hat-trick to add to his five goals in his previous five games.

Hearts have scored more set-piece goals than any side in Premiership this season and it was no surprise that Steinwender rose above Souttar to head the equaliser after the latest in a series of badly defended corners.

However, while two goals on the break halted Hearts' momentum, Critchley will have seen plenty of positives to take into next weekend's trip to face bottom side St Johnstone as they emphasised again their potential to finish in the top six.

What is behind Hearts' resurgence under Neil Critchley since the turn of the year?

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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In the aftermath of Hearts' hard-fought Scottish Cup win against St Mirren on Monday night, there were a few posts on social media along the lines of: "Beni Baningime just played 120 minutes, see you in 18 months."

Such digs at the midfielder, who has been hampered by injuries throughout his time in Gorgie, were brought to his attention - by team-mate Ryan Fulton.

"It cracked me up," the infectious Congolese, who was player of the match, said.

"I'll be so real with you, for me, fans in this game are the best thing. Without their support, we wouldn't be where we are as footballers.

"When we were playing in Covid, it was dead, let's be so real.

"You want that pressure, but ultimately, for me, the opinions of people, good or bad, don't affect me.

"I don't look at it. I don't care. Why would you listen to random people that you don't know? I care about everyone in the world. I wish everyone the best. I really do, and I care about what everyone's going through.

"But ultimately, if you're not my family, and if you're not my friends, then whatever you say about me doesn't really matter."

The words of Elton Kabangu must matter, then, because the pair have struck up quite the friendship.

The on-loan Belgian striker's parents are also Congolese, so the duo speak in Lingala - one of the languages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"His personality is great," Baningime, 26, added.

"Me and him speak the same language - we speak Lingala at times. We're speaking our own language and everyone's just looking at us.

"Honestly, he's been a great addition. More than just a footballer, great friend, great personality, great character and that is what we have in this changing room."

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Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin is currently undergoing protocols for concussion but could still feature, while Lewis Neilson has recovered after coming off early on against St Mirren last Monday.

Craig Halkett (hamstring), Frankie Kent (quad) and Stephen Kingsley (hamstring) are out.

Rangers have no fresh injury problems. Danilo, Leon Balogun, Connor Barron, Dujon Sterling and Neraysho Kasanwirjo have been sidelined in recent games.

In episode five of the Romanov: Czar of Hearts podcast, the countdown to the end of the season is on and, despite Romanov's changes in the dugout and constant tinkering with team selection, the Tynecastle club are still in with a chance of a historic second place in the league and the Scottish Cup final.

Listen and subscribe on BBC Sounds

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Neil Critchley is hopeful "top performer" Cammy Devlin will be available for Sunday's Premiership visit of Rangers after the Hearts midfielder suffered a head knock on Monday night.

The Australia international was replaced midway through the second half of Hearts' Scottish Cup tie at St Mirren and has been following concussion protocol.

As such, the 26-year-old has yet to return to full training, but should he suffer no setback, he will be allowed to do so on Saturday.

"We have to follow [the protocol], so that's so far so good," the head coach said.

"There's a bit where you do a little bit on the bike and then you start to progress

"Then you start to come on to the pitch and do a bit of running, semi-opposed stuff and then opposed.

"He's coming through that and if he does carry on with no setbacks, then that means he will train tomorrow and be available.

"He's been a really important member of our team, integral to what we've been doing, so we're obviously hopeful that he makes it."

Hearts welcome a bruised Rangers to Tynecastle after the Ibrox club suffered a shock Scottish Cup exit to Queen's Park last weekend.

"They'll be looking to put that right and they'll be hurting from that," Critchley said.

"But if you look at the games prior to that, they were in really good form and winning games and scoring lots of goals.

"So we're very respectful of the fact they've got good players and they're a good team. But we're in good form and we've got some good players and the lads think we're a good team, so it's got the makings of a really good game."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Neil Critchley has been speaking to the media before his Hearts side welcome Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Here are the key things he said:

• Cammy Devlin, who is currently following concussion protocol after a head knock on Monday night, has yet to take part in full training, but could do on Saturday. "If he does carry on with no setbacks, then that means he will train tomorrow and be available," says Critchley.

• The team have proved their "resilience and grit" to be on the cusp of top six having been at the foot of the table in late December.

• Critchley's objectives for the season haven't changed, despite now being in a much more promising position than when he came in: "We want to be in the top six but we're not getting carried away, we haven't achieved anything yet."

• Hearts now have "a willingness not to lose", which was shown in the Scottish Cup shootout win against St Mirren.

• Rangers' cup defeat to Queen's Park "doesn't affect us", though Critchley is aware they will be "hurting and keen to put things right".

• When asked if it's a better or worse time to be playing Rangers after their cup exit, Critchley said: "Who knows? We'll find out at 12 on Sunday."

• The head coach confirmed Lewis Neilson has recovered from a dead leg.

Chris Bertram
BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Philippe Clement will perhaps be surprised he is still in charge at Ibrox after the embarrassing Scottish Cup exit against Queen's Park.

With Rangers failing to mount a title challenge, the defeat against the Spiders has turned up the heat significantly on the Belgian.

Rangers' hierarchy have been tight-lipped all week, which is a backing of sorts. But Clement will surely know a poor result at Tynecastle on Sunday will nudge him closer to an exit.

Six weeks ago he might have fancied his side's chances of earning a morale-boosting victory, but Neil Critchley has steadily improved Hearts once he had time to assess the squad.

They have won four of their five league games in 2025 - with one draw - and Cammy Devlin has been pivotal to the resurgence. He tops the table for the number of tackles (23) as well as being joint-top for interceptions in the Premiership in 2025.

The loan signing of Belgian striker Elton Kabangu seems to have liberated Lawrence Shankland too, and the Jambos showed the sort of resilience that was sorely lacking earlier in the season when they edged past St Mirren in the Scottish Cup.

Yet, despite the cloud hanging over Clement, Rangers have won their past four league games - and all by a margin of at least two goals.

History is in Clement's favour too, with Hearts winless in their past 17 meetings with Rangers in all competitions, a run that includes 13 defeats.

So, Rangers and their fans have become used to success against Hearts, and therefore anything other than another victory in Gorgie could spell the end for Clement.

Read all this weekend's Premiership picks

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• Should Rangers captain James Tavernier play at Tynecastle it will be his 300th appearance in the Premiership, making him the first non-Scottish player to reach that total in the competition since its 2013 rebrand. The only other players to make 300+ are Callum McGregor (336), Andy Considine (319), Marcus Fraser (312), and Stephen O'Donnell (305).

• Midfielder Jorge Grant made his 100th appearance in all competitions for Hearts in Monday night's Scottish Cup win at St Mirren.

• Hearts are winless in their past 17 meetings with Rangers in all competitions (D4 L13) since a 1-0 win in the Scottish Cup in February 2020.

• Rangers have only lost one of their past 26 league games against Hearts (W19 D6), going down 2-1 in January 2020 under Steven Gerrard.

• Hearts have won four of their five league games in 2025 (D1), as many as their final 22 such matches of 2024 (W4 D7 L11).

• Rangers have won each of their past four league games, all by a margin of 2+ goals. That's the club's longest run of league wins by more than one goal since April 2023 under Michael Beale (5 in a row).

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

What has become evident in recent weeks is Hearts have found ways to win games, a trait they lacked earlier in the season.

The performance in Paisley on Monday - particularly the first half - was less than impressive but the substitutes made a huge impact to help Neil Critchley's side squeeze through to the Scottish Cup quarters.

It's not the only time such perseverance has paid off. In the first match of 2025, at home against Motherwell, there was little threat until late on when Craig Gordon pulled off two wonder stops to preserve the 1-0 victory.

At Tannadice three days later, when Hearts were not at their best, a James Penrice strike grabbed three points when a draw looked the most likely outcome.

And against Kilmarnock in late January the defence stood strong in the closing stages to edge a 3-2 win.

All of this and more have lifted the spirits within the club. Just a few months ago it was all doom and gloom, but now the top six is in sight and Hearts are one of eight teams still standing in the Scottish Cup, a tournament they are second favourites to win.

Critchley's men aim to keep the momentum building this weekend by adding to the woes of a Rangers side smarting from their cup humbling by Queen's Park.

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Craig Gordon has backed "fantastic" Calem Nieuwenhof to make up for lost time after the Hearts midfielder marked his comeback from long-term injury with a crucial Scottish Cup strike.

The 23-year-old, who had been sidelined since last March with a hamstring injury, came off the bench to score a late equaliser against St Mirren on Monday night before two saves from Gordon in the shootout sent Hearts through to the quarter-finals 4-2 on penalties.

"It's been great to have Calem back," said Gordon, 42. "He's obviously had some real bad luck with injuries over the last year but he's a really good player, a really solid midfield player.

"He brings a lot to the team. He's a great player for us to have coming back and being fresh at this stage of the season, ready to go again.

"I was absolutely delighted for him to get a goal. Hopefully he can continue to kick on and get more minutes because that's an area of the pitch where it's great to have somebody else coming back into the fold at this stage.

"He was on the bench last week and he never got on so to come on to a game when you're 1-0 down with not long to go to try and help turn it around, he was fantastic. He's so laidback, I would never worry about him in any situation."

Gordon, who saved St Mirren's first two penalties from Oisin Smyth and James Scott, revealed he had been preparing for a shootout in training.

"It was something we did with the guys that were likely to take penalties," he said.

"I'd made a few saves (in training), so I was looking forward to it. I thought I might get one or two. To get the first two and really put the pressure on the guys coming after that and take the pressure off my team was nice."

Hearts, now unbeaten in eight games, have a home tie in the last eight against a Dundee side they beat 6-0 earlier this month.

"You look for a home draw and it's been a while since we've had one, so it was nice to get through and get rewarded with a home tie," said Gordon. "I'm sure they'll be out for revenge, especially after last week there, so it will be a difficult one."

Greg Playfair
Fan writer

The primary objective in a knockout match is to ensure you are victorious when the final blows are traded. After those 120 minutes in Paisley, it felt like everyone watching had been in a boxing ring for 12 rounds.

It wasn't much of a game for the purist but was nonetheless very much pulsating. Jambos' heart rates were racing in the first half and, in truth, we were lucky not to be a couple of goals behind to St Mirren.

WhatsApp group chats of Hearts supporters were scathing of Craig Gordon, with many bewildered at his decision to palm a shot into a busy six-yard box and to the feet of striker Mikael Mandron.

It's funny how football works as two hours later Gordon went from sinner to our very own maroon saint, with his two saves in the penalty shootout ultimately proving decisive.

We can be satisfied with how we played from the second half onwards and the promising thing is our many substitutes - an astonishing seven - each made a positive contribution. Special mention to Calem Nieuwenhof, who scored with his first touch after 11 months out injured.

We've been rewarded with a home time in the quarter-final versus Dundee, who I'm sure will be a much more formidable threat than they were in our recent 6-0 win.

Before all that, there's league business to concentrate on and we have Rangers up next at Tynecastle on Sunday.

We have not defeated them in the past eight meetings, conceding 19 goals in the process. But Rangers now are at a low ebb, with their supporters turning on their players and beleaguered manager, and their away record is nothing to be feared.

Sunday's match is going to be a cracker and I hope the positivity of 2025 around Hearts continues and we're able to add another scalp and keep momentum as we try to break back into the top six.

We asked for your views on Hearts' win on penalties against St Mirren to secure a Scottish Cup quarter-final at home to Dundee.

Here's what some of you said:

Chris: A terrific win but goodness we make it hard for ourselves. The line-up played into St Mirren's hands. Horrible pitch and hoofball almost won it for them. Subs made a difference though and well done to those who turned it around. Great character and determination, and a special hats off to Craig Gordon for his saves in the shootout. Home tie at last.

Jim: Very lucky to make the quarter-final draw. Overall we looked very sluggish, second in almost every challenge and second best for a loose ball. The back four looked like they hadn't played together often and did not compete well with St Mirren's very lively and direct approach in the forward areas. We need a bit more time for new recruits to fit in.

Derek: What a cup tie - admittedly, not one for the history books score-wise, but neither set of fans can say their club did badly. Gordon saved our skin long before the heroics in the penalties, and James Penrice is too good for Scotland. Some things to work on defensively, but we're through, and I can't complain. Roll on the next round!

Paul: St Mirren are a huge team. Full of NFL-type players. The route one football was working for them and they should have been further ahead. The pitch was a glue pot and Hearts need to learn that their tippy-tappy football cannot be played on a pitch like that. They were lucky to get through.

Chris: That was a tough watch. St Mirren were a danger constantly and we were all over the place in every position in the first half. We improved in the second but the pitch made it near impossible to play good football. Fortunate to get to extra time, and penalties are a lotto, thankfully we have Gordon in goal! Delighted for the team!

Anon: It's all about winning, especially if you're not playing well.

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Hearts will host Dundee in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

Neil Critchley's beat St Mirren 4-2 on penalties in the fifth round to earn themselves a place in the quarters.

Meanwhile, Tony Docherty's men beat Airdrieonians 4-0 in the fifth round to book their place in the quarters.

The ties will be played on the weekend of Saturday 8 March.

Craig Gordon was the Hearts hero, saving twice in a Scottish Cup penalty shootout win over St Mirren in Paisley.

Mikael Mandron gave the hosts a deserved lead during a fierce spell of first-half pressure, poking in from close range as Gordon parried a shot from Mark O'Hara.

Hearts forced extra time when late substitute Calem Nieuwenhof struck with his first touch.

What did you make of the match? Give us your thoughts here., external

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James Penrice: "Me and Gerry [Taylor] actually switched penalties before the end. It's a brilliant feeling when it hits the net.

"It was a difficult game. We tried as much as possible to get the ball on the ground, but they made it really hard. The lads were brilliant.

"I can't see why we can't go as far as possible.

"Earlier in the season, we wouldn't have come back in that game. We're putting a wee run together and hopefully it continues."

Craig Gordon: "Not really [nervous], I don't think there's much pressure on the goalkeepers. I wanted to make a few saves and give the guys that were stepping up some confidence.

"Really good to get the first two which takes a little bit of the pressure off my teammates coming up to hit the next penalties, so great to get those saves and get us through to the next round.

"It's nice to get a home one, it's been a while since we've had a home dra win the cup.

"It's another top-flight club so it's not easy."

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Hearts head coach Neil Critchley: "Happy to have a home draw, nice to be at home and happy to be in the quarter-finals.

"The game's a few weeks away so who knows what form they'll be in or we'll be in, we've got plenty of league games in between so we'll approach that game when we get to it.

"Not really [happy with first-half performance], you know you're going to have to do the basics really well here, you have to compete with and without the ball and I didn't think we did that well enough.

"We grew into the game a little bit but didn't have the control over it that we'd have wanted.

"We had to fight and scrap and it's taken a big effort to get through tonight."

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Craig Gordon. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

The 42-year-old was at fault for St Mirren's goal but made a few big saves, notably from Declan John, to keep the scores level and ensure the game went the distance.

It was in the shoot-out that he really thrived though, saving the first two penalties to put Hearts in the driving seat.