Paul Hartley scored a stunning hat-trick to ease Hearts into the Scottish Cup final at the expense of Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.
Edgaras Jankauskas set up Scotland midfielder Hartley for a cute, sidefoot finish from 12 yards.
A curling Hartley free-kick deceived Zbigniew Malkowski before Hibs' Ivan Sproule was sent off for stamping.
Jankauskas pounced on another Malkowski blunder and Hartley scored from the spot after Gary Smith was dismissed.
Hibs manager Tony Mowbray had been forced to hand new signing Abdessalam Benjelloun his debut up front with Derek Riordan suspended and Chris Killen failing a late fitness test.
Michael Stewart was also missing from midfield, so Chris Hogg and Steven Fletcher also came into the starting line-up.
Hearts were without suspended Julien Brellier and Roman Bednar, while Takis Fyssas dropped to the bench with Andy Webster, Bruno Aguiar and Calum Elliot returning to the side.
Valdas Ivanauskas' side threatened from the start and Malkowski did well to concede a corner at the feet of Jankauskas, who was twice denied by the Polish goalkeeper.
Hibs created some moments of danger of their own and Steven Whittaker's drive from the edge of the penalty area was acrobatically tipped over by Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
Fletcher headed Kevin Thomson's corner wide from eight yards and Caldwell towered above Webster but headed over from nine yards.
But it was Hearts who looked the more threatening and Malkowski did well to claw away a curling Hartley free-kick from beneath the crossbar.
Sproule burst into the Hearts penalty box but sent a weak shot straight at Gordon from an acute angle when he would have been better picking out the unmarked Benjelloun.
And Hearts scored after the young Moroccan was dispossessed by Skacel and the Czech picked out Hartley.
The Scotland midfielder sent Jankauskas clear and the Lithuanian returned the ball to Hartley for a neat finish with the outside of his foot.
Hearts lost Pressley to a head knock suffered in the dying seconds of the first half, Fyssas coming on at the break.
Hartley, now with the captain's armband, tested Malkowski with another curling free-kick that the goalkeeper tipped round the post following a deflection.
The midfielder did make it two after 59 minutes from another set-piece wide on Hearts' left.
Malkowski, expecting Hartley to cross into the box, left a gap at the near post, but the former Hibs man instead curled it round the one-man wall and beyond the despairing goalkeeper.
Hibs attempted to hit back immediately and another Whittaker drive stung Gordon's hands from 25 yards.
Hearts lost Goncalves to injury, but Hibs' hopes of taking advantage all but ended when Sproule stamped on the back of Mikoliunas.
Jankauskas pounced when Malkowski failed to kick clear a long ball from Fyssas.
And, when Smith was sent off for hauling back substitute Pospisil, Hartley completed the rout from the spot.
Hibernian: Malkowski, Whittaker, Gary Smith, Caldwell, Murphy, Sproule, Hogg, Thomson, Glass, Fletcher, Benjelloun.
Subs: Simon Brown, Konde, Konte, McCluskey, Shields.
Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Goncalves, Cesnauskis, Aguiar, Hartley, Skacel, Elliot, Jankauskas.
Subs: Banks, Fyssas, Camazzola, Mikoliunas, Pospisil.
Referee: S Dougal |
