Sparta leave Hearts facing European exit

Hearts (0) 0 Sparta Prague (1) 2

Hearts' European hopes are 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 the Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon held the visitors at bay.

However, in the 71st minute Gordon had no chance when Sparta substitute Miroslav Matusovic fired in the second goal from the edge of the penalty area to seal victory.

After crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers last month to AEK Athens, the warning signs must now be there for Hearts 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 kick-off. 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.

Taken from telegraph.co.uk