Heart Of Midlothian vs Rayo Vallecano

Ba-Sy opened the scoring in the 18th minute after a slick build-up. Stephen Kingsley fed Josh McPake, whose whipped cross was glanced by the French forward into the far corner past Daniel Cardenas. The forward had spurned a gilt-edged chance four minutes earlier, dragging wide from ten yards after Oisin McEntee's cross, but made no mistake second time around.

He doubled the lead on 34 minutes with another header. Claudio Braga switched play quickly to Christian Borchgrevink, who hung a ball into the middle for Ba-Sy to power a header into the bottom corner — his second of the night and a dream debut for the new signing.

Rayo Vallecano, who finished eighth in La Liga last season, pulled one back on the hour mark. Sergio Camello's strike took a heavy deflection off a Hearts defender, looping up and over goalkeeper Alex Schwolow into the net.

The visitors pushed for an equaliser in the final quarter, but Hearts held firm to record a deserved victory.

Schwolow's fingertip save in first-half stoppage time preserved Hearts' two-goal cushion at the break. Pedro Diaz's 25-yard free kick was destined for the top corner until the German goalkeeper flung himself left to claw it away. Had Rayo scored there, the momentum shifts into a different game. Instead, Vrancken made four changes at half-time and Hearts controlled the early stages of the second period before the Camello consolation.

Amadou Ba-Sy — Man of the match. Two goals (18', 34') on his Hearts debut, both headers from wide deliveries. Showed strength to hold off defenders and a striker's instinct for arriving at the right spot. The sort of centre-forward performance that immediately answers questions about a new signing's fit.

Alex Schwolow — Made three vital saves: a fifth-minute block to deny Etienne Eto'o, the fingertip free-kick stop before half-time, and quick reactions to smother Camello's lob attempt from 35 yards on 56 minutes.

Stephen Kingsley — Instrumental in the first half. Involved in the build-up to both goals, delivered dangerous set pieces, and helped McEntee nod over from a free kick early on.

Sabri Guendouz — Introduced at half-time, the substitute was a livewire, constantly evading challenges and threading Rogers Mato through on 50 minutes.

The match page shows Heart of Midlothian made 10 substitutions to Rayo Vallecano's 0, which tells the story of a pre-season friendly at very different stages of preparation. Hearts used 22 players across 90 minutes, rotating nine from their midweek win over Arbroath. Rayo made no changes, keeping their XI on the pitch for the full match — a reflection of Inigo Perez's desire to build match sharpness ahead of La Liga's opening weekend. Hearts' two first-half goals came from open-play crosses, exposing a static Rayo defence that improved after the interval.

The win completes Hearts' pre-season preparations on a high note ahead of their Champions League second qualifying round first leg away to Sturm Graz next week. The Jambos have shown they can compete with top-tier European opposition, and Ba-Sy's instant impact will encourage supporters who watched the club reach the UEFA Conference League final in May. Rayo Vallecano, who finished eighth in La Liga last season, continue their pre-season schedule with more minutes banked for their first-choice XI.

A professional, controlled performance from Hearts against a Rayo side that offered little for long spells. Ba-Sy's debut brace was the headline, but the structural discipline — Schwolow's goalkeeping, Kingsley's set-piece delivery, the defensive solidity after the break — suggests Vrancken's side are well-prepared for the Champions League tie that follows. For a friendly, this carried real meaning.