| Report Index--> 2006-07--> All for 20060806 | ||||
| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 06 Aug 2006 Hearts 2 Celtic 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ Report | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | Martin Greig | auth-> | Stuart Dougal |
| [S Petrov 65] | ||||
| 76 | of 085 | Roman Bednar 49 ;Roman Bednar 87 | L SPL | H |
Play European games at Tynecastle, says JankauskasMARTIN GREIG August 08 2006 EDGARAS JANKAUSKAS, Hearts' Lithuanian striker, claims that the club would have a better chance of reaching the lucrative Champions League group stages if their home ties were played at Tynecastle rather than Murrayfield. Almost 29,000 turned out for their second round qualifier against Siroki Brijek at Murrayfield two weeks ago and the club are hoping for around 40,000 for their third round first leg tie against AEK Athens tomorrow night – which would surpass the current record of 37,000 against Standard Liege in 1958. Although using Murrayfield allows Hearts to satisfy increased demand for tickets, Jankauskas, a Champions League winner with Porto in 2004, believes the intimidating atmosphere generated by playing at their spiritual home will be sadly missed when European football visits Murrayfield tomorrow. "I would prefer to play at Tynecastle because then you feel you have double support," he said. "At Murrayfield maybe we are too far away from the supporters. We would have had a bigger chance to beat them at Tynecastle. We have a chance to beat them at Murrayfield as well but at Tynecastle it's a different story." Jankauskas hopes to play a part in Wednesday's first leg and will undergo a fitness test today to determine his recovery from a hamstring injury. The Lithuanian has prior knowledge of Greek teams in Europe, having been in a victorious Porto side who beat Panathinaikos over two legs in the UEFA Cup three years ago. However, he is under no illusions as to the scale of the task which awaits. "It's very important not to concede at home and try to score a goal because in Athens, hell is waiting for us," he said. "I played against Panathinaikos with Porto and we beat them but it was a tough tie. We lost at home and beat them in Greece. They only had a 20,000 stadium but their supporters were very passionate." Bruno Aguiar, the Hearts midfielder, received the lowdown on AEK from a former Benfica team-mate, after the Greeks beat the Portugese outfit in a friendly last week. Jankauskas confirmed that they received a glowing report. "Bruno [Aguiar, the Hearts midfielder] spoke to Nuno Assis, a Benfica player and he gave them [AEK] a very good report. He just said they were beaten all ways. We already knew they were a strong team and we will give them respect, but we will not be scared of them. "They are a technical team with skilful players and a completely different style to Scottish or British teams. Most supporters haven't had a chance to see this team but believe me, it'll be very tough. They try to control and pass the ball and if you let them do it, you're in trouble." The Lithuanian played in the 3-0 home win over Siroki Brijeg, but has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since. However, he is hopeful of playing a role at some stage against the Greeks. "At the moment I'm feeling quite good, better than a few days ago," he said. "I'm not 100% fit because I've missed almost two weeks training so it will be tough to last the whole game, but I'm hoping to be in the squad and help the team if I can."  Taken from the Herald |
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| <-Page | <-Team | Sun 06 Aug 2006 Hearts 2 Celtic 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
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