Stuttgart 1 Hearts 0

By Ian Rodgers, PA Sport, Stuttgart

Brave Hearts weathered a storm in Stuttgart to offer themselves a chance to cause a major UEFA Cup upset.

The German side will take a one-goal lead to Tynecastle in a fortnight after Bulgarian international Krassimir Balakov scored the only goal of the game from a 20-yard free-kick in the 35th minute.

But resolute defending by the Jambos prevented Stuttgart, who had beaten Bayern Munich at the weekend, killing Hearts off.

But there was a heavy price to pay for Hearts with Colin Cameron carried from the field in the final minute of the game.

Hearts knew they were in for a rough evening's work when Jochen Seitz headed just wide after just three minutes.

And Gary Naysmith almost made his team's chances harder when his sliced clearance drifted goalwards only for Niemi to gratefully watch the ball sail wide.

Croatian international Zvonomir Soldo was marshalling the game well for the Germans from his central defensive role while Balakov and Pablo Thiam were creating havoc for the Jambos in midfield.

But after 15 minutes Fitzroy Simpson, who had been restricted to only defensive duties, rounded his marker Meissner on the corner of the box before attempting to bend the ball around Hildebrand.

But the Stuttgart goalkeeper reached out his left hand to tip the ball around the post.

Thomas Flogel was ploughing a lonely furrow up front as an interim striker but with both Juanjo and Simpson increasingly required for defensive duties, supply was in limited supply for the Austrian international.

However Scott Severin was clearly struggling after manager Jim Jefferies had gambled on his fitness following an ankle knock suffered with the Scotland Under-21 side in Latvia.

The German dominance eventually paid off in the 35th minute after Petric had appeared to foul Meissner 20 yards from goal.

Krassimir Balakov lined up the free-kick and floated the ball over the Hearts wall to leave Niemi stranded.

Unsurprisingly, Severin did not re-appear for the second half and was replaced by Lee Makel in midfield.

The home side continued their dominance at the start of the second half and Grant Murray was almost punished by Seitz when he seized on the Hearts defender's woeful back pass.

But Niemi saw the danger and raced off his line to claim the ball.

At the other end, Colin Cameron stung Hildebrand's hands with a fierce drive after 57 minutes.

But the natives were becoming restless in the Stuttgart crowd as their team struggled to capitalise on their possession against the Jambos.

The home crowd were not pleased with their side's failure to capitalise on their dominance and let their feelings be known as every attack broke down.

But Hearts deserved credit for their defensive resilience which had frustrated the German team.

Darren Jackson could be rightly proud of his performance and was greeted with cheers from the travelling Hearts fans when he was replaced by Gary McSwegan.

However there was serious concern for Jefferies when his captain Cameron was carried from the field on a stretcher after a collision with Thiam in the final minute.

But there were many heroes in the Hearts camp on an evening when team spirit offered a chance of a major European upset.

Teams:

VfB Stuttgart: Hildebrand, Meissner, Thiam, Balakov, Carnell, Seitz (Pinto 62), Soldo, Endress (Schneider 37), Lisztes, Hosny, Dundee (Ganea 80).

Subs Not Used: Trautner, S. Blank, Todt, Hleb.

Booked: Pinto.

Goals: Balakov 35.

Hearts: Niemi, Pressley, Naysmith, Severin (Makel 46), Murray, Petric, Juanjo, Flogel, Jackson (McSwegan 78),Cameron (Neilson 90), Simpson.

Subs Not Used: McKenzie, O'Neil, Kirk, James.

Att: 15,000

Ref: Cosimo Bolognino (Italy).


Taken from sportinglife.com