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In the starting lineup for the match in Edinburgh, two Lithuanians started - Deividas Česnauskis, who played one of his best matches for the team, and Edgaras Jankauskas, who played until the 69th minute but could have put the hosts ahead in the 13th minute of the match, but his shot was weakly directed towards the goalkeeper.
In the packed "Tynecastle" stadium, "Hearts" broke ahead in the 20th minute with a goal from Paul Hartley, and a few minutes later "Falkirk" defender Stephen O'Donnell was sent off with a second yellow card. The lead was doubled in the 25th minute by the most productive home team forward, Czech Rudi Skacel, scoring his 15th goal of the season.
The end of the match was clear at the end of the first half when young Calum Elliot scored his third goal of the match, with Michal Pošpišil replacing the Lithuanian E. Jankauskas in the second half, who, according to the BBC, immediately left the field obviously dissatisfied.
However, coach Graham Rix's decision to bring on the Czech player proved right just four minutes later, when M. Pošpišil scored with a header from a pass by Lithuanian D. Česnauskis. The fifth goal at the end of regulation time was scored by C. Elliot, from the penalty spot.
Another piece of good news for "Hearts" fans is that on Monday others chasing them had no luck - Glasgow "Rangers" played a 3-3 draw in a six-goal thriller with the league's bottom club "Dunfermline", who snatched a point with a penalty in the 90th minute, and the other Edinburgh team, "Hibernian", lost 2-0 to "Inverness CT" on the road.
"Kilmarnock" climbed to fourth place by defeating "Dundee Utd" with a goal in the dying moments of another dramatic match. "Motherwell" moved to seventh place by beating "Aberdeen" 3-1 at home.
Meanwhile, league leaders Glasgow "Celtic" had to fight hard, only securing a tough 2-1 victory at home against "Livingston" with a winning goal by Japanese player Shunsuke Nakamura three minutes before the end of the game.
20th round statistics
Glasgow 2 - 1
38` [1 - 0] Shaun Maloney
58` [1 - 1] Paul Dalglish
86` [2 - 1] Shunsuke Nakamura
3 - 3 Glasgow
15` [1 - 0] Andy Tod
21` [1 - 1] Peter Lovenkrands
22` [2 - 1] Mark Burchill
64` [2 - 2] Peter Lovenkrands (11 m.)
66` [2 - 3] Chris Burke
90` [3 - 3] Darren Young (11 m.)
62` Lee Makel sent off ("Dunfermline")
90` Sotirios Kyrgiakos sent off ("Rangers")
Edinburgh 5 - 0
20` [1 - 0] Paul Hartley
25` [2 - 0] Rudi Skacel
40` [3 - 0] Calum Elliot
72` [4 - 0] Michal Pospisil
90` [5 - 0] Calum Elliot
22` Stephen O'Donnell sent off ("Falkirk")
2 - 0 Edinburgh
7` [1 - 0] Barry Wilson
10` [2 - 0] Craig Dargo
2 - 1
37` [1 - 0] Gary McDonald
50` [1 - 1] Colin Samuel
89` [2 - 1] Gary Wales
3 - 1
8` [1 - 0] Scott McDonald
25` [2 - 0] Scott McDonald
52` [3 - 0] Alan McCormack
90` [3 - 1] John Stewart
Tournament Table
