Everything now hinges on Hartley

BEFORE kick-off, the fans were seeking photographs and autographs, afterwards they screamed as he exited the ground. If those young girls and awestruck boys were clamouring for a bit of Paul Hartley, their desperation was nothing compared to that of his manager and team-mates as Emerson and his fellow AEK Athens midfielders bossed the area he usually claims as his own.

A player who has ballooned in stature on the domestic scene, in a Scotland shirt he has also proved capable of dictating play on a bigger stage. Last week, Hearts manager Valdas Ivanauskas claimed his team missed his spirit and his soul almost as much as his football ability.

On Wednesday, against a quality team, that was all too evident. His absence left the opposition with little to think about defensively in midfield, concentrating their efforts instead on how to conjure up the next wave of attack.

But back in training, the player who missed out on the majority of the pre-season work with his groin injury, is hoping to be back in time to bring some influence to bear in the return leg on August 23.

He was one of three regular midfield starters who were missing, and the men behind and ahead of them on the field are hoping that Julien Brellier and Deividas Cesnauskis will also return.

"They started very positively and they put us on the back foot," said captain Steven Pressley," who admitted the Greek side were as good as any Hearts have met in recent years. "We had watched videos and they like to counter-attack and at times that's what we expected from them but they were very positive at the start of the game. Technically they are a very good side but not just technically, physically they were very strong and in the end it is extremely disappointing because we had put so much into the game and were looking like we could get a fantastic result to take to Athens.

"I thought we showed a lot of steel. We didn't play great football at times but we showed resilience. After the initial 20 minutes we found our feet and after the goal we were on top of the game for the first time and looked like we were getting some momentum but then, obviously, the sending off was the turning point in the game."

So at the crux of it all is the midfield and, with at least two goals required, in particular the return of the Hartley set pieces to the Hearts armoury.

"Absolutely," said Pressley. "It could take two inspirational set plays to turn the tie on its head so with him back he's very capable of that. He's a key player and although we have made a terrific start to the season, his influence in the middle of the park is always missed. It would be fantastic to have him back."

If the absence of the creative distraction offered by the Scotland international wasn't felt keenly-enough, the Gorgie club's cause was undermined further by the Brellier-shaped void, according to goalkeeper Craig Gordon. The Tynecastle enforcer was ill, those who usually rely on him as their midfield-buffer merely sick.

"We knew [Emerson] was going to be the main playmaker," said Gordon. "He just drops in deep and picks up the ball and a lot of their moves seem to come from him. He's a good player, you can't afford to give him time on the ball. He always seems to make space for himself, he's a quality player and that's what he can do.

"The boys in there tried their best. It was a wee bit of makeshift midfield with strikers dropping back in to play the role. Julien, Paul and Deividas [Cesnauskis] would normally start in a game like that if they were fit. We were a lot of players down but the players that came in did a great job and we almost managed it. I know how good a player Julien is and how important he is to the team. I can see his work, what he manages to do in front of our back four and I know our defence appreciate it as much as I do."

With Bruno Aguiar suspended, it is likely that Brellier, ruled out through illness at Murrayfield, will help bolster that area. But while Aguiar's sending off makes manager Valdas Ivanauskas' choice of who to leave in the holding role alongside Hartley, provided he plays, now clear cut, the harsh decision to send him off means that the task in Athens is ridiculously tough. "We would still have been under pressure but we would have had more attacks of our own," predicted the aggrieved Gordon. "We'd just got a head of steam up and I felt they were starting to tire. If we kept 11 on the park then we could possibly have extended our advantage. We were starting to hold the upper hand and that's just absolutely killed us. To be down to ten men with an hour to go is a massive task against a team of their quality.

"They are a very strong side. If they were to progress to the next round then I am sure they would do some damage. It's not over yet, though. We'll go over there and try and score the goals that can take us through."

"We certainly have to be positive in our play," added Pressley. "It is a tall order against a very good side but some of our best European performances in recent years have been away from home, in Basle and Bordeaux, so there is still hope."

Hope but, after the first leg, dwindling expectation.

Taken from the Scotsman