Date	Wednesday, 09 September 1998
Competition	Scottish League Cup
Fixture/Score	Heart of Midlothian 1:1 Ross County
Venue	Tynecastle Park
Attendance	11,902
Referee	Kenny Clark
Comments	Match Report Report by Mike Tremlett from The Press & Journal. Heart of Midlothian 1 Ross County1 Loss 3-0 on Penalties After Extra Time Ross County staged a wonderful display of fighting cup football to go close to matching Berwick Rangers' remarkable Scottish Cup win over Rangers in a highly charged contest at Tynecastle last night which saw the Third Division leaders bow out of the Scottish League Cup on penalties. The Dingwall men, who had already taken out Dundee United, pushed Hearts all the way to a penalty shoot-out but their nerve cracked as one after the other--Derek Adams, Billy Herd and Davie Ross--all missed, while Derek Holmes, Steve Fulton and Lee Makel hit the net for the Edinburgh side. But the Dingwall side made history in front of 1,700 travelling fans who made themselves heard while the Easter Ross club gave Hearts a huge fright before they eventually claimed their place in the semi-final draw. Before the kick-off all eyes were on County hot property Adams with a posse of scouts representing Reading, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Bolton, Motherwell, Hibs, Morton, Raith Rovers, Preston, Sunderland and Norwich all tracking County's £150,000-rated striker. And Adams did not disappoint, setting up French teammate Franck Escalon for a chance which came back off the bar early in the first half, taking a part in County's 40th minute opener and then hitting the woodwork himself in the second half when County looked like pulling off a shock. Manager Neale Cooper promised his side would show character and it did, making just one defensive slip which allowed Derek Holmes to drag the Edinburgh side, by then down to 10 men, back on terms. But County's nerve cracked in disappointing fashion at the shoot-out stage after a memorable performance which had them on the verge of a place in the last four with Rangers, St Johnstone and Airdrie. For most of what went before the Third Division leaders looked anything but three divisions below the Scottish Cup holders in quality, matching Hearts at every turn after they made a blistering start which saw Frenchman Escalon turn in an 18 yard left foot shot which beat Gilles Rousset and cannoned back off the crossbar after Adams set him up. That triggered a 15 minute spell of pressure from Hearts which saw Hamilton head wide, County sweeper Billy Herd clear a header from Weir off the line and Neil McCann whip the ball across the face of County goal which Paul Ritchie and Stephans Adam were both inches away from turning past Walker. But five minutes before the interval County went in front, Roy McBain steeling in on the blind side of defender Steven Pressley to slot a right foot shot past the helpless Rousset after Adams flicked on an Escalon cross. And County's composure stood them in good stead after the interval as Hearts came out bent on avoiding their first defeat in a Tynecastle cup tie for four years. Ten minutes into the second half County almost went 2-0 up, a right foot curling shot from Adams was touched onto the post by the diving Rousset and then away to safety after Adams ran onto the Frenchman's clever feed. But in 71 minutes County cracked and Hearts substitute Holmes took full advantage to crash the ball past the helpless Walker after a McCann corner rattled around in the County box without being cleared. Two minutes later Hearts were down to 10 men in controversial circumstances when defender Ritchie was sent off after Kenny Clark consulted stand side linesman Stuart McGeoch and the assistant referee pointed out as the culprit for raising his hands to Adams. Ritchie was sent off but Fulton, who was clearly the perpetrator, played on. County held on despite yet another Hearts onslaught to take the tie into extra time and even then they gave as good as they got, McBain setting up Escalon who drilled the ball just wide from 18 yards. Five minutes from the end of the extra half hour McBain used Escalon and Adams as decoys to drive forward and let fly from the edge of the box, but his shot flew over the bar.
Ross County
Manager	Neale Cooper
Starting 11	1: Joseph (Nicky) Walker, 2: Ian Maxwell 1, 3: Stuart Golabek 1, 4: William (Billy) Herd, 5: Steven Ferguson 1, 6: Alexander Taylor, 7: Roy McBain 1, 8: Kenneth Gilbert, 9: Franck Escalon, 10: Derek Adams 1, 11: Neil Tarrant
Bench	0: Garry Wood 1, 0: Connor Campbell, 0: David Ross
Heart of Midlothian
Manager	Jim Jeffries
Starting 11	Giles Rousset 1, David Weir, Steven Pressley, Gary Naysmith, Paul Ritchie 1, Neil McCann, Steve Fulton, Thomas Flogel, Gary Locke, Jim Hamilton, Stephane Adam
Bench	Lee Makel, Derek Holmes 1, Jose Quitongo