Slask Wroclaw 1 - 0 Hearts: Trial and error for Hearts youngsters

Published Date: 09 July 2009
By BARRY ANDERSON AT RUDOLF-KALWEIT-STADION
HEARTS suffered defeat against an impressive Slask Wroclaw side in Germany last night as an error by Adrian Mrowiec presented Tomasz Szewczuk with the winning goal 20 minutes from full-time, earning the Hearts player a tongue-lashing from his manager, Csaba Laszlo, after the match.
Playing their second match in as many days, the Hearts club gave a decent account of themselves with a young line-up. Most impressive was centre-back Ryan McGowan, who looked assured beyond his years alongside Jose Goncalves in defence.

Hearts might have secured a draw but a misplaced pass by Mrowiec allowed Szewczuk in to break the deadlock. Once Slask Wroclaw scored they never looked like conceding. Despite the match being a friendly, Hearts manager Laszlo was furious with his player for throwing away a goal. He said: "I am angry about the result, I would like to win every game but I can't accept this mistake from Mrowiec. Definitely we will talk about this. It is only a friendly game but you can't make this mistake. It is very, very average. This is a joke."

The second game of this pre-season tour took place at the home of Arminia Hannover, who occupy the fifth tier of German football. Laszlo fielded a younger side than that which started against Goslar SC 08 on Tuesday, although they were denied the services of Eggert Jonsson due to a tight hamstring. He sat in the stand alongside Dawid Kucharski. David Witteveen, the Austrian trialist, began on the bench.

Michael Stewart again captained Hearts and was unimpressed by the early physical approach of Slask Wroclaw. He complained to referee Robert Schroder about the venom of incoming tackles.

As half-time approached, McGowan's impact was becoming evermore apparent as he executed precisely-timed tackles and interceptions with consummate ease. He even proved a master of the recovery after a wayward pass from defence landed at the feet of Sotirovic, only for McGowan to dispossess the striker as he crossed Hearts' 18-yard line.

The interval brought the predictable flurry of substitutions from both sides. Stewart earned a caution for a sliding challenge on Slask substitute Wellington five minutes after the restart, which contributed to him being promptly replaced by Mrowiec. Lee Wallace took possession of the captain's armband.

The pace of the game dropped as the second half evolved but Slask Wroclaw continued to enjoy most of the possession.

Ruben Palazuelos' speculative attempt on 69 minutes flew narrowly over the crossbar, but seconds later Hearts fell behind. Mrowiec played a stray backward pass from a right midfield position which Szewczuk collected on the edge of the penalty area before stroking the ball low beyond McDonald. The advantage was just about deserved on the balance of play.

Although they increased the tempo thereafter, an equalising goal was beyond Hearts, and in the closing moments McDonald parried a powerful drive from Bazej Vascek which was destined for the net.

Hearts (4-4-1-1): Balogh; J Thomson, McGowan, Goncalves, Wallace; Suso, Black, Stewart, Obua; Glen; Elliot. Subs: McDonald 46 (for Balogh), C Thomson 46 (for J Thomson), Cinikas 69 (for Elliot), Luksa 66 (for Suso), Novikovas 46 (for Obua), Mrowiec 51 (for Stewart), Palazuelos 46 (for Black), Witteveen 46 (for Glen).

Slask Wroclaw (4-4-1-1): Kaczmarek; Socha, Celeban, Spahic, Pawelec; M Gancarczyk, Lukasiewicz, Ulatowski, J Gancarczyk; Klofik; Sotirovic. Subs: Vazgec 46 (for Kaczmarek), Kasnikowski 46 (for Pawelec), Vascek 46 (for M Gancarczyk), Tyminski 46 (for Lukasiewicz), Ady 46 (for Klofik), Dudek 46 (for Ulatowski), Wellington 46 (for J Gancarczyk), Szewczuk 42 (for Sotirovic).

Referee: Robert Schroder.

Taken from the Scotsman