By Ronnie Esplin, PA Sport

Hearts' European hopes were hanging by a thread after losing 2-0 to Sparta Prague in their UEFA Cup first round, first-leg tie at Murrayfield,

A Daniel Kolar goal after 34 minutes gave the Czech side a deserved interval lead and at times only Jambos keeper Craig Gordon held the visitors at bay.

However, in the 71st minute Gordon had no chance when Sparta substitute Miroslav Matusovic fired in number two from the edge of the penalty area to seal a comfortable win.

After crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers last month to AEK Athens, the warning signs must now be there for Jambos head coach Valdas Ivanauskas as the Tynecastle side arguably turned in their worst performance of the season so far.

The smoke from the pre-match firework display which engulfed the stadium and delayed the kick-off for a few minutes was not the only barrier to the game starting in perfect conditions.

The Murrayfield pitch, sodden from hours of rain during the day, made life difficult for both sets of players right from the first whistle.

When the 27,255 crowd could eventually see the lottery of a pitch they witnessed the home side struggling to cope with the puddles which was making passing impossible at times.

It was Sparta who had the first effort on goal after 10 minutes when midfielder Ludovic Sylvestre worked a one-two with Libor Dosek at the edge of the Hearts penalty area before sliding his right-footed effort inches past the post.

The Jambos' first effort on goal did not arrive until the 25th minute but Mirsad Beslija's back-post header from a Jamie Mole cross was easily scooped up by Sparta goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek.

A Dosek drive from 20 yards was deflected behind for a corner by Hearts skipper Steven Pressley and from the resultant corner, Tynecastle keeper Gordon had to be sharp to hold the near-post flick by the impressively strong Czech striker.

On the half-hour mark, Gordon made an even better save, touching a powerfully angled drive by Sylvestre over the bar for a corner which the home side defended at a stretch.

However, the Scotland keeper had no chance in the 34th minute when the visitors took a well-deserved lead.

The Hearts defence could not clear their lines in the midst of yet another attack by the Czech side and from the edge of the penalty area, Kolar fired in an unstoppable shot into the top corner.

Just before the interval Sparta defender Jiri Homola somehow managed to head a Jan Simak corner over the bar from around a yard out.

The Tynecastle men failed to capitalise on that let-off seconds later when Mauricio Pinilla headed straight into the arms of Blazek from a Paul Hartley corner but it was the first indication that the home side were forcing their way back into the match.

Five minutes after the interval a long throw by full-back Robbie Neilson was headed past his own back post by Sparta defender Michal Kadlec but the home side could not make the most of their corner.

The tempo of the game had increased but still the Czech side refused to be rattled, dealing comfortably with some rather primitive attacking strategies of the increasingly desperate Edinburgh men.

Hearts continued to press with admirable energy and in the 58th minute an angled shot by Mole was beaten out by Blazek only to see Hartley miss the rebound.

But all the while, the pacey Sparta side looked likely to counter given half a chance and just before the hour mark only a timely intervention by Pressley nullified the visitors' threat at the edge of the Jambos' penalty area.

In the 64th minute a double substitution for Hearts, Ibrahim Tall and Deividas Cesnauskis coming on for Pinilla and Beslija, brought jeers from the a section of the home support.

However, Sparta substitute Matusovic, on for Simak earlier, missed a sitter when he flashed a shot from six yards past the far post.

In the 70th minute Gordon made an incredible triple save, first blocking Dosek's low drive before immediately saving Sylvestre's volley from the rebound and the Scotland goalkeeper capped it off by pushing Matusovic's close-range effort behind for a corner.

But his work was all in vain barely a minute later when the visitors doubled their lead.

Matusovic atoned for his earlier two misses when he picked the ball up 25 yards out and drilled a shot which gave Gordon no chance.

The goal knocked the stuffing out of the home side and their supporters and the game petered out to a depressing end for the Edinburgh men.

Teams:

Hearts Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Berra, Wallace,Beslija (Tall 63), Aguiar, Hartley, Mole,Pinilla (Cesnauskis 63), Bednar.

Subs Not Used: Banks, Fyssas, Makela, Karipidis, Park.

Booked: Aguiar.

Sparta Prague Blazek, Repka, Pospech, Homola, Kadlec, Kisel,Sivok, Ludovic (Lustrinelli 86), Kolar (Hasek 76),Simak (Matusovic 63), Dosek.

Subs Not Used: Grigar, Drobny, Zabavnik, Jun.

Booked: Simak, Kadlec.

Goals: Kolar 34, Matusovic 71.

Att: 27,255

Ref: Paolo Bertini (Italy).

Taken from sportinglife.com