Hearts secured all three points in our opening match of Group E in the Premier Sports Cup, seeing off Dunfermline 4-1 on a scorching afternoon at Tynecastle Park.
In his first match as Head Coach of Hearts, Derek McInnes’ men saw James Wilson’s early tap in cancelled out by Josh Cooper’s equaliser just before the first half’s conclusion.
After a largely uneventful second 45, the Jambos won two penalties in the space of a few minutes – with Lawrence Shankland bagging a brace from the spot before Stephen Kingsley curled home in stoppage time to sink Neil Lennon's Pars.
McInnes set out his stall with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Craig Halkett and Frankie Kent formed the central defensive partnership, with midfield staples Beni Baningime and Cammy Devlin in front of them, complete with captain Lawrence Shankland leading the line up front with James Wilson in support.
There were also maroon debuts, with Irish utility man Oisin McEntee slotting in at right-back, and Portuguese marksman Claudio Braga on the right flank – with summer signings Alexandros Kyziridis and Christian Borchgrevink on the bench and Stuart Findlay serving a suspension carried over from Kilmarnock.
The men in maroon registered their first chance inside 45 seconds – a ball forward found Alan Forrest who accelerated into the box and cut back across goal for Braga, his side footed attempt held by Deniz Mehmet in the Pars goal.
Goal number one arrived after three minutes. A spectacular clipped strike from Shankland on the edge of the box cracked the post and spilled back into open play, with James Wilson applying a simple finish to make it 1-0 to the Jambos.
The game settled into a rhythm after the explosive start, but Hearts enjoyed the lion’s share of possession as they probed for a second. The best chance came after 26 minutes as Mehmet palmed a Harry Milne cross back into danger – with Oisin McEntee seeing his goal bound effort deflected away by a Pars shirt.
Alan Forrest was a constant threat on that right hand side, and his explosive pace saw Hearts go close again after 37 minutes – displaying blistering pace to evade his markers and crash into the area, his low drive dragging across the face of goal from an angle.
Hearts were made to pay for not capitalizing on their early advantage, with Josh Cooper finding space on the edge of the box before drilling a low strike into the bottom left corner beyond Zander Clark after 38 minutes.
HT: Heart of Midlothian 1-1 Dunfermline Athletic
It was an understated beginning to the restart in Gorgie, the first half-chance coming after 58 minutes as Chris Kane’s ambitious overhead kick sailed wide from distance.
After a spluttering start, Hearts had a glorious chance to claw back the lead after 75 minutes. Intelligent play from Alan Forrest saw the winger pounce on an underhit pass back – getting chopped down by Deniz Mehmet in the process.
Lawrence Shankland stepped up for the resulting penalty, and made no mistake from the spot as Glad All Over blared over the Tynecastle PA system for the first time.
Just a minute later, Hearts supporters inside Tynecastle were treated to it again as the Jambos won another spot kick. Substitute Elton Kabangu was wiped out in the box by a Pars shirt – with Shankland dispatching another perfect penalty.
With the game winding down, the Jambos still found time for one more, with substitute Stephen Kingsley hooking a delightful strike home on the volley following a well worked corner routine.
The men in maroon cruised their way to the finish line and three points from there, and now look to Tuesday night's trip to Broadwood to face Hamilton Accies in their next match of Group E in the Premier Sports Cup.
Hearts: Clark, Kent, Halkett, Baningime, Shankland © (Kingsley 87'), Braga (Spittal 64’), Devlin (Nieuwenhof 77’), Forrest, Milne, Wilson (Kabangu 77’), McEntee (Borchgrevink 64’)
Subs: Fulton, Kingsley, Kabangu, Nieuwenhof, Borchgrevink, Steinwender, Spittal, Dhanda, Kyziridis
Dunfermline: Mehmet, ChilokIoa-Mullen, Benedictus ©, Otoo, Ritchie-Hosler, Gilmour, Amade (Ngwenya 53’), Kane (Kearney 64’), Tod, Cooper (Young 74’), Oakley-Boothe (Todd 74’)
Subs: Margetts, Ngwenya, Hamilton, Todd, Kearney, Young, Bray, Davidson, Fyfe
Attendance: 12,940
Hearts Debuts: Oisin McEntee, Claudio Braga, Christian Borchgrevink.
