Liverpool 1-1 Heart of Midlothian

From Hearts Media at Anfield.

A tremendous performance saw Hearts battle to a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday night. The performance will live long in the memory of supporters, despite Liverpool advancing to the Europa League group stages with a 2-1 aggregate win.

David Templeton's 84th minute strike gave the Jambos a shock lead, but Luis Suarez levelled the score minutes later on a night of drama at a sold out Anfield.

The Jambos were unchanged from the side that faced Liverpool in the first leg at Tynecastle. This meant that David Templeton was once again deployed as an attacking midfielder, tucked in behind John Sutton in the same role which he flourished in during the first leg.

The Jambos implemented an excellent pressing game during the opening stages and subsequently found themselves attacking the Liverpool backline on several occasions.

Paterson was the first to test Reina when he received the ball wide on the right before producing a cracking volley in the turn which narrowly missed the post.

Liverpool seemed content with the measured approach as they threaded the ball between defence and midfield, patiently waiting for openings in the Hearts defence. Suarez looked odds on to put the Reds in front when he leapt to steer a looping header over Jamie Macdonald, but Marius Zaliukas was on hand to clear the ball off the line.

Hearts attacks became less frequent as the half wore on, but Mehdi Taouil and David Templeton both put Reina to the teat with long distance efforts.

Anfield then erupted on the half hour mark when Morgan tapped the ball into an empty net after Suarez broke in from the right, but the linesman's flag was raised for offside.

Shortly before, Gerrard had embarked on one of his trade mark runs down the left channel which enabled him to weave his way through the Hearts box, only to see his effort blocked by Macdonald.

Hearts refrained from making any half time changes, but Liverpool soon found their rhythm after the restart and bean to make inroads into the Maroon half, albeit without carving out any clear cut opportunities.

As the game passed the hour mark, however, Rodgers' men began to find openings and came within a whisker of taking the lead as Suarez rounded Macdonald before hitting a shot off the post.

The Reds continued to pile on the pressure, with Steven Gerrard the key instigator of attacks with pin point passing and bursting runs through the middle. He forced a fine save my MacDonald at his near post after Novikovas carelessly conceded possession inside his own box.

McGlynn then introduced Andy Driver and Dale Carrick in quick succession, prompting Callum Paterson take John Sutton's place up front. The young Carrick looked lively, showing some nice foot work as he back heeled the ball to Mehdi Taouil on the edge of the box but the midfielder's shot failed to trouble Reina.

With just over five minutes remaining, however, Templeton picked up the ball on the edge of the box and dispatched a shot which seemed to lack the necessary power to beat Reina. The Spaniard, however, some fumbled the ball over the line and subsequently sent the massive travelling support into a ballistic frenzy.

The home side, however, immediately set about attacking and found themselves level within minutes. Suarez was played through the middle and outpaced Zaliukas before slotting the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.

The Jambos looked deflated but still mustered a few attacks in the dying minutes, but the Reds held on to secure progress to the Europa League group stages.

The fantasic Maroon support gave the players and backroom staff a superb ovation as they left the field, and even the home support afforded the players a warm round of applause in recognition of their efforts.

Hearts leave Merseyside with their heads held high after putting up a tremendous fight against the Premiership giants over the two legs.

Liverpool: Reina; Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Downing; Allen, Henderson (Borini, 75), Gerrard, Shelvey; Suarez, Morgan (Sterling 61). Subs not used: Jones, Johnson, Enrique, Agger, Coates.

Hearts: Macdonald; R.McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger; Paterson, Barr, Taouil, Novikovas (Carrick, 75), Templeton; Sutton (Driver, 65). Subs not used: Hamilton, Robinson, Holt, D.McGowan, McHattie.

Referee: V. Bezborodov

Top man: Marius Zaliukas

Hearts World