Hearts are ruthlessly exposed by Bordeaux

MIKE AITKEN AT TYNECASTLE

Hearts 0 Bordeaux 2

WHILE it would undervalue Hearts to assess their contribution over the two legs of the tie as no more than the perspiration of the Scots against the inspiration of the French, few would dispute the brio shown by Bordeaux thoroughly merited a place in the third round of the UEFA Cup.

Goals in each half from Albert Riera and Pascal Feindouno confirmed what Craig Levein, the Hearts coach, had known since he first clapped eyes on Bordeaux after the draw was made. Namely, that the French outfit possessed technical ability in abundance, first-rate organisation and a fine marriage of pace and skill on the break.

For all those crucial advantages, Bordeaux still had to roll up their sleeves to overcome a tenacious Hearts side who never quite found a way to capitalise on their splendid 1-0 win in France. The Edinburgh side needed a smidgen of good fortune to enhance their endeavours at Tynecastle and found no such luck coming their way.

Perhaps the least popular man in the ground was the Polish referee, Grzegorz Gilewski, who disallowed Phil Stamp’s first-half shot past Ulrich Rame for offside and often seemed blind to the aggression of the French though not the Scots. Still, you couldn’t lay the blame for this European exit at the door of the Pole. Bordeaux progressed from the second round for the simple reason they had better players, notably Feindouno, whose balance, poise and understanding of his position between midfield and attack caused Hearts endless problems.

Although Stamp did his best, the Tynecastle side had no-one of that calibre or a forward with the blistering pace of Jean Claude Darcheville and Marouane Chamakh. In the end, the gap in class between the two sides was too much for either ebullience or endeavour to overcome. Most of those realists in a crowd of 17,500 appreciated that fact and generously applauded the Hearts players at the end of another night when Scottish football came up just a little short.

What was never in doubt after the first leg in France was that Hearts would crowd more men behind the ball than usual at home and strive to deny Bordeaux the space needed to turn the tie around. Where Levein faced the most telling challenge of his tender managerial career was in balancing caution with ambition in the event of conceding an early goal.

In order to sprinkle the Horlicks with caffeine - and turn 4-5-1 into 4-3-3 - Hearts left Mark de Vries as the lone striker but asked Stamp and Jean-Louis Valois to stretch Bordeaux from wide areas on the counter. Before he was injured, Hartley’s role as the attack-minded player in central midfield was to help the Dutchman when he could.

Bearing in mind how often the light at the end of the tunnel in Scottish football turns out to be no more than the first glimpse of an oncoming train, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising the mood in the stadium for Hearts’ most meaningful European tie in 14 years was edgy rather than jingoistic.This sense of unease duly turned to dread after eight minutes when Riera, from Darcheville’s pass, blasted an incredible 25-yard swerving shot past Craig Gordon and immediately changed the complexion of the contest.

Bordeaux, of course, were far more attack-minded than one would normally expect from visiting Europeans. Playing 4-3-1-2, Darcheville and Chamakh up front were joined by Feindouno in the link role between middle and front and this positive approach helped the French grab the early goal.

In spite of the loss of that away goal, Hearts persisted with the formation which started the game throughout the first half. This meant Bordeaux were able to push their full-backs into midfield and leave the centre-halves to look after De Vries. Only when Valois got on the ball and sprung a through pass which prompted a marginal offside decision against Stamp did the atmosphere quicken.

That said, Bordeaux looked to have more potential matchwinners in their ranks and were unfortunate when Darcheville’s volley from the edge of box eluded Gordon only to strike the bar.

Paul Hartley was stretchered off after a clash in midfield and his departure after half an hour brought Scott Severin into the game as a substitute. Whether Hearts needed another midfield player more than a second striker at this juncture was a moot point but Severin brought stability and the home side raised the tempo.

Feindouno was proving as much of a handful as Patrick Kisnorbo must have expected and the Moroccan’s run and shot forced a fine save from Gordon, who touched the ball onto the near post and was relieved to see it bounce clear.

Hearts had improved the longer the half lasted and could count themselves unlucky not to equalise five minutes before half-time when Stamp ‘scored’ from a De Vries pass only to be adjudged offside.

Stephen Simmons replaced Neil MacFarlane at half-time and the introduction of an attacking midfielder for a defensive one meant the home side now had a player closer to De Vries. Although a booking meant he had to watch his step, Simmons’ overhead kick broke kindly for De Vries, whose header, alas, went straight into the arms of Rame.

There was risk attached to all this positivity and Bordeaux made Hearts pay with a wonderful break in the 66th minute. Chamakh showed McKenna a clean pair of heels down the left and cut back a delightful ball for Feindouno who matched power with control from the edge of the box as he guided the winner past Gordon.

Needing to score twice to go through, Hearts inevitably threw the kitchen sink at Rame. Stamp should have scored from the edge of the six-yard box and Simmons scratched his head in disbelief when the goalkeeper made a miraculous save.

Andy Kirk’s arrival in the place of Valois for the last 15 minutes signalled the home side’s belated commitment to all-out attack. But in the space and freedom that now came his way, Darcheville should have increased Bordeaux’s lead.

Taken from the Scotsman