Scottish League Cup REVIEW 11 Sep 2026: Stenhousemuir's first quarter-final since 1975-76 meets a Hearts side with players to spare

Stenhousemuir reached a League Cup quarter-final for the first time since 1975-76, and found a Hearts side that took the tie seriously without having to risk much on it. Wouter Vrancken rested his first-choice forward line at Ochilview and was without Blair Spittal and Oisin McEntee. It made no difference. Hearts won 3-0 and were two ahead by the thirty-ninth minute.

JJ Williams opened the scoring after thirty-five minutes, his first goal for the club since arriving from Rhode Island, and he had a hand in the other two as well. Rogers Mato scored after thirty-nine, from Williams's pass. Yan Dhanda, on at sixty-five minutes for Tomas Magnusson, made it three after seventy-four, again from a Williams knock-back. Stephen Kingsley came on shortly before that goal, which is worth noting: Hearts had spent the week putting him among the players more likely to be available only after the international break.

For Stenhousemuir it ended a run rather than starting one. They went into the tie unbeaten in ten competitive matches under Marvin Bartley, who had been named the Championship's manager of the month for August three days earlier, and they had removed Motherwell in the previous round through Euan O'Reilly's goal in the 114th minute. O'Reilly came off the bench here just after the hour, and Gregor Buchanan, the club captain, followed him on later. They are a part-time side in the second tier for the first time since 1975, and Vrancken had been careful beforehand to call them better organised than some Premiership teams.

Hearts go into Sunday's semi-final draw, made once the last of the quarter-finals at Ibrox is done, with the semi-finals set for the weekend of 31 October and 1 November and a Hampden tie the reward. Vrancken had been asked in the build-up about a congested fixture list and an artificial pitch, and had no time for either. "Excuses are for losers," he said. "You have to prepare yourself and you have to be ready." A second-string forward line winning 3-0 against a side that had gone ten competitive matches unbeaten is the kind of evening that makes the line stick.