Heart of Midlothian 0-1 Liverpool

From Hearts Media at Tynecastle.

A late own goal by Andy Webster condemned Hearts to a cruel 1-0 defeat against Liverpool, despite more than matching the English Premier League side for large parts of Thursday night's first leg Europa League play off tie at a sold out Tynecastle.

The Jambos were huge underdogs from the offset, but put in a fantastic performance which leaves them with plenty to play for at Anfield next week.

John McGlynn made one change to the side that drew with Caley Thistle as Arvydas Novikovas took the place of Andy Driver. David Templeton, meanwhile, was positioned in the hole just behind Sutton with Mehdi Taouil and Darren Barr tucked in just behind him.

The game kicked off amidst a cauldron of noise; 'Hey Jude' blasted out over the tannoy and subsequently had all four corners of Tynecastle well and truly bouncing.

The Jam Tarts had clearly learned their lesson from last season's Spurs encounter as they closed down the visitors from the off, denying them the space required in which to find their preferred passing game.

A Charlie Adam shot from the edge of the box was the only threat his side was able to muster inside the first twenty minutes, as the Jambos seized control early on.

Novikovas then dispatched a swerving long range effort which had Pepe Reina at full stretch as he tipped it out for a corner. Minutes later, Templeton fed Sutton inside the box but the big striker's effort narrowly missed he target.

Templeton was in a buoyant mood through the middle and soon began to cause problems for Liverpool's vastly experienced centre half pairing of Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger.

The visitors only occasionally ventured into the Hearts box, yet nearly took the lead when McGowan's attempted clearance came within inches of finding his own net.

Then, on the stroke of half time, Raheem Sterling dashed down the left channel before teeing up Borini in the centre of the box. The Italian steered his shot past MacDonald, but to the relief of the Tynecastle faithful, his effort came crashing off the bottom right post.

The second half enjoyed a more measured start, but Hearts soon gained momentum as both Callum Paterson and Templeton put Reina to the test with long range drives.

With the Jambos in the ascendancy, Brendan Rodgers opted to introduce Stewart downing and summer signing Joe Allen in quick succession, but his decision to switch to three at the back only enabled Hearts to further increase the pressure.

On 77 minutes, however, Tynecastle was silenced as Liverpool dealt a sucker punch to the home side. Martin Kelly found himself in acres of space on the right before directing a cross towards Borini on ten yards. The Italian failed to connect, the ball instead deflecting into the back of the net via Webster's leg.

Hearts looked deflated with just ten minutes remaining, but still mustered a late rally which saw substitute Driver go close from eight yards out. Man of the match Callum Paterson then forced a superb save from Reina with an angled shot, but the Reds held on to secure the win.

On the back of such a fine display, however, Hearts will head south to Anfield next Thursday with everything still to play for.

Hearts: MacDonald; R. McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger; Paterson, Barr (Robinson 86), Taouil, Templeton (Driver 78), Novikovas (Carrick 83); Sutton. Subs not used: Enckelman, D.McGowan, Smith, McHattie.

Liverpool: Reina; Robinson (Downing 61), Carragher, Agger, Kelly; Henderson, Spearing (Allen 67), Adam, Shelvey, Sterling; Borini (Morgan 90). Subs not used: Jones, Coates, Leiva, Flanagan.

Referee: Florian Meyer

Top man: Callum Paterson

Hearts World