Hearts needing a favour from Feyenoord

HEARTS boss John Robertson was today facing up to the fact that his side could win their final UEFA Cup Group A match against Ferencvaros at Murrayfield and still be eliminated from the competition, writes PAUL KIDDIE.

Tynecastle No.2 Donald Park and youth coach John McGlynn were in Budapest last night to see Basel leapfrog the Jambos into third place with a 2-1 victory over the Hungarians.

Benjamin Huggel’s late strike in the Ferenc Puskas Stadium means that Hearts’ Euro fate is now outwith their control.

They must defeat Ferencvaros and hope that Basel fail to beat Dutch cracks Feyenoord, who secured their place in the last 32 with a 2-1 victory over Schalke in Rotterdam. Both those teams have secured qualification with seven points, with Basel and Hearts battling it out for third place.

Hearts could afford to draw at Murrayfield but would then have to rely on Feyenoord winning in Switzerland.

"It wasn’t the result we were hoping for but there’s nothing we can do about it," said Roberston.

"All we can do is make sure we do our job properly against Ferencvaros at Murrayfield and then hope Feyenoord beat Basel in Switzerland."

The Gorgie outfit, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief after escaping a UEFA fine following the win in Basel.

A handful of supporters spilled on to the pitch after Dennis Wyness had put the Jambos ahead in the first half, chief executive Chris Robinson admitting afterwards he was bracing himself for some sort of punishment from European football’s governing body.

However, the good news for Hearts is that there was no mention of the fans’ transgressions in the UEFA delegate’s report.

"There was no mention of any pitch invasion in the delegate’s report," said a UEFA spokesperson.

Taken from the Scotsman