Clyde 0 Hearts 2

Hearts eased their way into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with a comfortable win over Clyde at Broadwood.

Early first-half goals from Darren Jackson and Gary Wales were enough to ensure a comfortable victory over their Second Division opponents.

Clyde battled hard throughout but never looked likely to recover from a terrible start which left them two behind after only seven minutes.

It took the Edinburgh men only two minutes to take the lead. Colin Cameron swung in a cross from the right, Wales failed to connect but Jackson came racing in at the back post to slam the ball past Clyde keeper David Wylie.

Five minutes later Hearts doubled their lead and effectively ended the contest.

A long ball from Fitzroy Simpson put Wales clean through on goal.

Keeper Wylie appeared to win the race to the ball but his clearance cannoned off the Hearts striker who then slid home from two yards, despite the despairing efforts of Clyde defender Bryan Smith.

Clyde looked shell-shocked and struggled to get into the game as their Premier League opponents appeared sharper in every area of the pitch.

But after such a frantic start, the game settled down with Hearts content to soak up the Clyde pressure and attack on the brake.

Ten minutes from half-time Clyde had a chance to reduce the deficit when Hearts keeper Antti Niemi fumbled a cross on the six-yard line.

The ball fell to Clyde midfielder Allan Grant but his shot was blocked by Hearts defender Steve Pressley for a corner.

Clyde seemed to take heart from the incident and pushed the visitors back into defence.

But the Edinburgh side defended stoutly and the Clyde attackers found space difficult to find.

In the 43rd minute Clyde's Brian Carrigan found space on the edge of the box but his shot went well past Niemi's left-hand post.

The home side had two great chances just before the half-time break and on both occasions Pat Keogh passed up the opportunities.

First, he headed an Andy McClay cross over the bar from only two yards out and then shot straight at Niemi when in front of goal.

Clyde came out for the second half determined to get an early goal and within a minute, Carrigan had sent a dangerous cross into the Hearts box.

But although the ball fell nicely to Tam Woods, the big striker couldn't get his shot in and the danger was cleared.

Despite the home side's effort and determination, they struggled to create any clear-cut chances against a sturdy Hearts defence, well marshalled by Pressley.

As the second half wore on, Clyde ran out of steam and Hearts began to take control of the game.

With just six minutes left Hearts substitute Gary McSwegan should have made it 3-0 when he was sent clear through on goal but his shot from eight yards was easily saved by Wylie.

Teams

Clyde: Wylie, Ross, Smith, Murray, McLaughlin, Mitchell (McLauchlan 87), McClay (McCusker 86), Keogh, Grant, Carrigan, Woods (Barrett 61).

Booked: Mitchell.

Hearts: Niemi, Pressley, Murray, Petric, Naysmith, Jackson (McSwegan 81), Cameron, Tomaschek, Simpson, Wales,Adam (Severin 77).

Subs Not Used: Makel.

Booked: Naysmith, Murray, Jackson.

Goals: Jackson 1, Wales 7.

Att: 6,416

Ref: Stuart Dougal (Scotland).


Taken from sportinglife.com