New Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken saw his side's Champions League hopes end with a 4-0 loss to Sturm Graz. Set-piece vulnerabilities led to early goals, and despite some positive play, Hearts now face an almost certain drop to the Europa League.
NEW HEARTS HEAD coach Wouter Vrancken endured a nightmare debut as his side’s Champions League hopes all but vanished with a 4-0 defeat against Sturm Graz.
Hearts lost set-piece goals in the early stages of each half and conceded twice more during a torrid spell before the hour mark. The visitors missed two excellent chances and played some good football in the first half, but they are left with a mountain to climb ahead of next Tuesday’s second qualifying round second leg at Tynecastle.
Hearts look almost certain to drop into the Europa League, where they would face Benfica or Swiss side St Gallen, with the winners of this tie facing Fenerbahçe or Gornik Zabrze. Vrancken passed up the chance of guaranteed Europa League football with Sint-Truiden to replace Derek McInnes at Tynecastle, with key players Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin following the manager to Rangers.
Advertisement The Belgian named two debutants in his starting line-up, wide player Calvin Miller and centre-back Malachi Fagan-Walcott, while Jamie McCart was preferred to Stuart Findlay, one of Hearts’ key players last season, in central defence. Hearts also changed set-piece coaches in the summer with Liam Ross coming in for Ross Grant following his move to Celtic. Set-plays were one of the team’s strengths in their unlikely title challenge, but they looked vulnerable to dead balls throughout.
Despite a promising start which saw Harry Milne force a save, Hearts conceded inside four minutes from a long throw. Jon Gorenc Stankovic ran away from his marker and outjumped McCart to head home. Graz attacker Seedy Jatta headed off the post following a corner and Alexander Schwolow, who was selected despite sealing an imminent move to Mainz, saved an effort with his feet. Hearts improved.
Claudio Braga forced a save with a decent effort before Landry Kabore shot straight at the goalkeeper from 10 yards after a good run from ex-Ireland underage international Oisin McEntee. Alexandros Kyziridis soon missed an even better chance when he flicked the ball wide after good work from Braga. The referee handed the Austrians a penalty for an extremely harsh handball decision against Milne before reversing the award following a look at his VAR monitor.
Graz dominated the opening stages of the second half, and Jeyland Mitchell nodded home from close range after a 50th-minute corner. Schwolow seemed more concerned with pushing away an attacker than dealing with the inswinger; Kabore misjudged the flight, and Mitchell shook off the attention of Braga. Luca Weinhandl fired the third in off Milne three minutes later after the Hearts defence missed several chances to make a decisive challenge.
Schwolow stood motionless as Emran Soglo curled the ball off the inside of the far post and Jurgen Heil fired a shot through the goalkeeper at his near post after getting ample time and space to convert a return pass in the 59th minute. Graz seemed to settle for four and Hearts could not get a lifeline.
McEntee made a mess of a free header, McCart failed to trouble the goalkeeper from a string of headed chances and Tom Renaud twice fired over from 22 yards.
Please follow us on Google to support usHearts Sturm Graz Champions League Wouter Vrancken Europa League
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Stephen Bradley's Side Face Ararat-Armenia in Qualifying Round After Thrilling Comeback WinShamrock Rovers aim to secure a third consecutive league phase qualification as they travel to Armenia to face Ararat-Armenia in the second qualifying round. Their momentum follows a remarkable comeback against Floriana, overcoming a 2-0 first-leg deficit with a 5-1 victory at Tallaght Stadium. A win would set up a third qualifying round tie against the winners of Egnatia and Celje, and secure a place in the Conference League league phase, keeping them in contention for both the Champions League and Europa League. Historical matchups include a 3-2 aggregate win over Celje in 2024 and a 3-0 aggregate victory against Teuta in 2021/22.
Read more »
Shamrock Rovers could face very familiar opposition if they progress in Champions League qualifierNK Celje could lie in wait for a third time should Rovers advance past Ararat-Armenia.
Read more »
Conference League: Shels and Bohs get attractive European drawsDerry City were also in the draw for the Conference League third qualifying round.
Read more »
Derry City handed huge fine by Uefa in wake of CSKA Sofia crowd troubleThe League of Ireland side bowed out of the Europa League last week and are in Conference League action against Rijeka on Thursday.
Read more »