Livingston skipper Nicky Devlin says he ‘proud’ of his team-mates despite their Scottish Cup exit.
The Lions produced a typically resolute and determined display away to Hearts but ultimately exited at the last-16 stage on penalties following a 0-0 draw at Tynecastle.
Cristian Montano and Ayo Obileye missed their spot-kicks while the hosts were perfect to seal a 4-3 win and leaving Livi waiting for their first quarter-final berth since 2005.
Devlin, who turned in an exceptional performance with numerous key blocks and tackles over the course of the two hours, said: “Losing on penalties is always tough but I’m proud of every one of them.
“We’ve come to without doubt the third best team in the country by a long shot and for 120 minutes they could not break us down.
“We probably created the two or three better chances in the game. We can take a lot of confidence for it and when we reflect, it was a good performance.”
Despite Hearts controlling much of the possession, it was the visitors who created the better chances.
Bruce Anderson saw his early effort saved by Craig Gordon when had he looked up he would have spotted the unmarked Joel Nouble at the back post while they went close to breaking the deadlock twice in the second half.
Scott Pittman saw his deflected effort bounce back off the post on 73 minutes before neat play down the left flank led to Montano rolling the ball into the net - only for an offside in the build up ruling that out.
The howling wind and torrential rain made conditions difficult and the Lions did well to prevent Hearts from playing free-flowing football or getting any kind of rhythm.
They would still test Max Stryjek on several occasions, though, with the Polish stopper proving more than a match for anything thrown at him.
Fine saves from angled strike by Barrie McKay and Ellis Sims was the best Hearts could offer before the break while a wonderful fingertip save from a John Souttar header three minutes from time ensured the game headed into an extra 30 minutes.
Much like the previous 90, the hosts would dominate but find no way through the stubborn Livi backline.
Peter Haring saw his header palmed away while substitute Liam Boyce skied over after neat play as neither side found the breakthrough.
And so to penalties. Andrew Shinnie, Sean Kelly, and Jason Holt all netted for the Lions, with Souttar, Haring, and Ben Woodburn replying for the Jambos.
Montano’s strike clipped the outside of the post - allowing Simms to fire his side in front with Gordon then saving from Obileye to dump the Lions out of the competition.
There was a noticeable dip in form last term following their League Cup final loss and Devlin insisted that won’t be the case after this cup exit - and backed the pair who missed their spot-kicks to bounce back.
He said: “They’re fine, you are always going to be disappointed missing a penalty.
“We probably had nine boys wanting to take a penalty, probably take myself and maybe Fitzy (Jack Fitzwater) out of the equation.
“That’s unbelievable that we have those kinds of characters that they want to put themselves forward.
“I’m gutted for the boys that missed but also proud of them.
“Ayo was different class and has been for quite a long time now. He will be gutted but I’m sure he’ll move on.”
He added: “We definitely suffered after losing the cup final last year. As a squad we can’t let it happen this year because we’ve still got a lot to play for.
“You can see when we play like that we’re a match for anybody. We know where we want to be, so we have to make sure we get there.”
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