Heart of Midlothian beat Stenhousemuir 3-0 at Ochilview to reach the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup, with new forward JJ Williams scoring a goal and providing an assist on his first start for the club.
Williams, a 28-year-old American, joined Hearts from Rhode Island a little over a fortnight ago. Handed his first start against the Championship side, he made the most of the chance, playing a key role in two of Hearts' three goals.
Stenhousemuir, who play part-time in the Scottish Championship, were beaten for the first time this season. Manager Wouter Vrancken's Hearts side were the dominant force throughout, with the match never really in doubt once they took the lead.
How the goals went in
Hearts almost scored inside the first 20 seconds, when Tomas Magnusson showed quick feet on the angle of the area before picking out Sabri Guendouz in the middle. The Frenchman headed wide from six yards when he should have scored.
Stenhousemuir hit back on nine minutes when a quick throw-in caught out a static Hearts defence, but Kinlay Bilham blazed his effort over the crossbar from 15 yards.
Williams broke the deadlock 10 minutes before half-time, reacting quickest after the ball bounced around inside the Stenhousemuir box to lash home from close range.
Hearts barely had time to regroup before doubling their lead. Rogers Mato coolly slotted the ball beyond goalkeeper Darren Jamieson after being played through by a pass from Guendouz that started from just inside his own half.
Late goal seals semi-final spot
Jamieson kept Stenhousemuir in the tie on the hour mark, sticking out a leg to deny Mato, who had found space in the box to get a head on a Guendouz corner.
But substitute Yan Dhanda killed off any hope of a Stenhousemuir comeback on 74 minutes, tapping in unopposed after Williams headed the ball back across goal.
The result sends Hearts through to the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup, Scotland's League Cup competition.
