Hearts fail to cash blank Czech

Sparta Prague 0
Hearts 0
Sparta win 2-0 on aggregate

DEFIANT in defence but wasteful in attack, Hearts' European foray ended in an assortment of frustration and confusion in Prague last night as Sparta prevailed to take their place in the UEFA Cup group stages.

A minimum of two goals were essential for Valdas Ivanauskas and his players simply to restore parity with their hosts after the Czechs secured a 2-0 victory in Edinburgh. Ultimately that first-leg defeat has proved their undoing. The opportunities they required arrived at various junctures in the Czech Republic but the lack of a killer edge and bemusing substitutions aided their cause little.

Robbie Neilson's 66th-minute departure for Ibrahim Tall in a straight swap baffled the defender as much as it did the travelling support, with most expecting a more attacking change as Valdas Ivanauskas chased an elusive breakthrough. When Mauricio Pinilla was replaced by Bruno Aguiar late in the game the boos ringing around the stadium told the story.

Ivanauskas revealed afterwards that Pinilla's withdrawal was tactical to allow him to play with three strikers, Saulius Mikoliunas, Roman Bednar and Deividas Cesnauskis, in the closing stages. He also stated that Tall had been introduced to guarantee a greater threat from set-pieces.

Bednar was left on the substitutes' bench as teenager Jamie Mole started alongside Pinilla in attack. Yet the primary regret lingering in the aftermath of this match was that the chances that could, conceivably, have taken Hearts to the UEFA Cup group stages for the second time were passed up.

They needed openings but, having created them, did not take them. Cesnauskis in the first half and Mole and Bednar in the second were left to rue opportunities that weren't converted. As they heaved their sighs on the field, so the groans crept up in volume amongst the away support. It should also be emphasised, however, that Sparta similarly had gilt-edged chances in both halves and failed to capitalise to put the tie beyond all doubt.

From the outside, the Toyota Arena isn't especially appealing but does possess a rather unique ambience in the same way that Tynecastle is recognised for its overwhelmingly hostile atmosphere. Sparta's stadium also looked tidy from the inside even without full capacity last night.

For a side clearly in the ascendancy after the first leg of this UEFA Cup tie, Sparta have a rather subdued home support, who appeared underwhelmed by Hearts' visit. As Steven Pressley and Tomas Sivok led the teams out, tumultuous applause from a vociferous Edinburgh support was set against the tranquility of a few forced claps from the 10,000 Czechs inside the ground.

This didn't go unnoticed in the away end as chants were struck up denouncing the size of the home turnout as well as Sparta being apparently undeserving of their colours. "You're not fit to wear maroon," claimed the good-natured Hearts fans.

Pressley seems to be clocking up the achievements these days. After his nomination as one of Scotland's most stylish men, appearing against Sparta allowed him to equal Henry Smith's record of 22 European appearances for the club. The landmark was reached with the captain sporting headwear after a first-half collision left blood streaming from the back of his head.

In the lead-up to the match, Pressley had been one of several to underline the need for his team to score first. However, the tie could have been finished as a contest inside six minutes when Sivok's corner was won by Dosek before the ball spun inadvertently off Mikoliunas. Zdenek Pospech glanced the bouncing ball at goal only to see it hooked off the line by Paul Hartley, who was soon engaging in a powerful rant at Mikoliunas for the winger's unwillingness to track back.

Jan Simak then drove a shot wide, but Hearts' first foray towards Jaromir Blazek's goal brought a corner and a header from Pinilla that the goalkeeper smothered. Daniel Kolar signalled another warning when he struck Craig Gordon's crossbar and simultaneously panic into the home defence following a short corner.

Simak hit a vicious free-kick which deflected off Neilson's foot and required punching away by Gordon, and Hearts were finding it difficult to disguise their vulnerability whenever Sparta ventured forward. Set-pieces were proving particularly problematic due to the height advantage which striker Libor Dosek held over Pressley and Christophe Berra.

Hearts proved, though, that the hosts could be similarly unsettled in the 35th minute. A long ball from Lee Wallace bounced awkwardly between Sparta centre-backs Jiri Homola and Tomas Repka as Mole challenged, and the young striker was unfortunate to see his ball across goal cleared after managing to get past Blazek, who had sprinted from his line.

Ivanauskas would have noted that his team had not seriously threatened in the first half despite some resolute defending and occasional intricate passing in midfield. Mole and Pinilla were being generally well policed by Sparta's back line. Then, six minutes from the interval, came the kind of priceless opening Hearts craved.

Neilson's long crossfield pass bounced over Hartley and fell perfectly for Cesnauskis just inside the penalty area, however the chance was wasted when the Lithuanian's left foot sent the ball into the crowd. When Hartley's free-kick was poorly cleared by Pospech moments later, Cesnauskis side footed his effort past Blazek's right post.

Hearts were enjoying an industrious performance from Hartley, who was intent on familiarising himself with every blade of grass on the Toyota Arena surface. Against that, Mikoliunas toiled to reach the same wavelength as his team-mates whether playing on the right or left flank as he interchanged wings with Cesnauskis.

The second period began in reverse fashion to the first as the Tynecastle side instantly assumed the ascendancy. And when Hartley headed the ball between Homola and Repka for Pinilla to chase, a tackle by Homola gifted Mole a glaring opportunity but he contrived to ram the ball straight at the palms of Blazek as the net begged to be bulged. The miss prompted the question of what Bednar might have made of a similar opportunity.

The Czech did indeed replace Mole before Dosek incurred a caution for persistently fouling Pressley. Ivanauskas' other substitutions seemed difficult to digest when Neilson, who had looked composed and reliable for over an hour at right-back, was replaced by Tall and then Pinilla was withdrawn to widespread booing in the away end and Bruno Aguiar took over.

Much of the second half was a cat-and-mouse affair in truth - plenty of endeavour from Hearts but the incisive ball that would carve open their hosts did not materialise until Mikoliunas crossed for Bednar in the dying seconds. The striker chested the ball down but with his left foot sent his shot over the crossbar.

The miss only confirmed what everyone in the stadium already knew by that stage, that Hearts' time in Europe had been called for this season. Their exercise in futility was over. They had by no means played badly, on the contrary delivering a performance that was assured if unspectacular.

Ivanauskas and his players will be richer for their continental experiences against Siroki Brijeg, AEK Athens and Sparta, and must now seek the domestic inspiration that will permit a return to the continental arena next year.

Taken from the Scotsman