Athens-bound Hearts facing dilemma

HEARTS fly out to Athens this morning knowing they must produce their most impressive European performance of recent years if they are to overcome a 2-1 first-leg deficit and reach the group stages of the Champions League. The club's head coach, Valdas Ivanauskas, will also have to make a number of critical selection decisions over players who are either carrying injuries or are not match-fit.

Paul Hartley, who came on in the second half of Hearts' 2-0 defeat at Ibrox on Saturday, falls into the latter category, while the main injury doubts are strikers. Roman Bednar is unlikely to make it after injuring a foot against Rangers, but Michal Pospisil's prospects are improving. Pospisil came off the bench and was then himself substituted after picking up a dead leg.

"It doesn't look good for Roman," said John McGlynn, the assistant coach. "It's not quite as bad as we first thought, but it's the instep of his foot. That's a tender area and is causing a lot of pain.

"Michal looked to have got a very bad dead leg. It has improved a lot, but whether it has improved enough for him to take part on Wednesday will have to be decided later."

Edgaras Jankauskas is set to start up front, and there could be a place alongside him for Calum Elliot should Pospisil not pass a fitness test. Juho Makela and Jamie Mole are the other options for Ivanauskas, but Elliot, who is still expected to leave Tynecastle on loan shortly, would be the better bet. Whereas Mole is untested at this level and Makela has so far failed to impress, Elliot has the strength and unpredictability to pose problems for the Greek defence.

The problem for Hearts, however, could be getting the ball anywhere close to the opposition box. With Bruno Aguiar suspended after his sending-off in the first leg at Murrayfield, the entire pattern of the match could depend on Hartley. The midfield playmaker will surely not last 90 minutes, and Hearts do not want to stretch him unduly, but a bright first half-hour or so from him might at least let AEK know they have a match on their hands. At Murrayfield, with Hartley injured and Julien Brellier out because of a virus, Ivanauskas played Christos Karipidis, who is more used to playing in defence, behind Aguiar.

AEK also have injury worries. Goalkeeper, Stefano Sorrentino, was involved in a car crash at the weekend and is in hospital with arm injuries.

Should they lose, Hearts will have at least one more tie in European competition this season via the UEFA Cup, and still hope to strengthen their squad. The latest player to be linked with them is Jacques Alexis Romao, a midfielder who played for Togo in the World Cup.

"We are only in discussions at the moment, but he could be in Edinburgh later this week," said his agent, Frederic Dobraje. The 22-year-old is captain of the French club Louhans Cuiseaux.

Taken from the Scotsman