Hearts 0-1 Viktoria Plzen

Mark Atkinson reports from Hearts’ loss in the Europa League.

Transcript

00:00Good evening from Tynecastle Park where it has finished Hearts 0-Victoria.

00:05Pilsen won in the Europa League play-off round. Hearts yet again fail to go past this juncture

00:12in the tournament. They were clear second best here against the Czech side. A really

00:17insipid performance from the Jambos who have now only won one match in the last 11

00:22competitively under Steven Naismith. Pilsen, a decent side, well organised but far from formidable

00:29and the Hearts fans felt that the whole time. They were pretty upset with their team at the

00:33end. A lot of boos ringing out at the stadium here. They do drop into the Conference League,

00:37that's very much their level. They were very limited in attack here against a team that

00:44reminded me a little bit of the game against FC Zurich a couple of years ago here where

00:48there was optimism that Hearts could progress past them, a team out of sorts. It had the same

00:54vibe against the Czech side but in the end they couldn't take advantage. No clear-cut chances to

00:59talk about for Hearts. They missed Laurence Shankland who was ruled out by a knee injury

01:04and after a really cagey and ugly first half, Pilsen finally brought it down and locked that

01:08with about 20 minutes to go when the substitute Matisse Hydra mis-kicked the ball. It fell

01:14to Lukasz Szek and he drove the ball low past Greg Gort and Tynecastle emptied it after that

01:19and fans feared that this was cooked. It feels strange because Hearts are still in Europe and

01:23the Conference League could show up some nice ties but the fans here want more and you can

01:27sense a bit of restlessness coming into the Hearts support now, especially after this performance.

01:33Stephen Maceworth and Cole will need to find a cure to the malaise. When Dundee United come here

01:38on Sunday they'll need you to Hearts, still searching for their first win of the season

01:43going into the friendlies as well. They finished here at a disappointed Tynecastle. Hearts 0,

01:48Victoria Pilsen 1.