Viktoria Plzen Knock Out Hearts 2-0 on Aggregate Victory – Scottish Club’s Europa League Dreams End
Viktoria Plzen Triumphs Over Hearts, Ending Scottish Side’s Europa League Run.
Hearts’ hopes of progressing further in the Europa League were dashed when they suffered their fifth consecutive defeat, going down 2-0 overall to Viktoria Plzen to end their season.
Viktoria Plzen defeats Hearts 1-0 at Tynecastle to seal a 2-0 aggregate victory against the Scottish Premiership team; Lukas Cerv’s goal proved to be the difference on the night as Hearts suffered their fifth straight defeat, with their most recent setback removing them from the Europa League.
Lukas Cerv’s goal in the 76th minute of the second leg at Tynecastle killed the hosts’ hopes of a comeback for the Edinburgh team, who had trailed 1-0 from the first leg in the Czech Republic a week earlier.
The team led by Steven Naismith, who has already lost all six of its games this season, can at least take solace in the fact that they will automatically qualify for Friday’s UEFA Conference League group-stage draw.
Naismith started a lineup that was more similar to the one that began the heartbreaking 1-0 loss in Plzen last Thursday, making five changes from the starting lineup that began the 3-1 loss at Motherwell on Sunday.
The most noteworthy roster announcement for the Jambos was the addition of Liam Boyce, who has been severely injured over the previous two years, to the assault in lieu of the talisman skipper Lawrence Shankland, who was sidelined due to a knee injury suffered over the weekend.
After selling the Czech international to Bundesliga team Hoffenheim earlier this week, Plzen, who finished in the top eight of the Conference League the previous season, were left without the services of important defender Robin Hranac since the first leg.
In the seventh minute, Gerald Taylor’s strike found Cameron Devlin on the right edge of the box, and the striker fizzed an angled effort over the bar, Hearts’ first noteworthy attempt.
The hosts held the majority of the possession, but they didn’t have a clear opportunity until the 36th minute. Taylor’s long throw-in found fellow Costa Rican international Kenneth Vargas in position for a penalty kick, but the striker missed with a half-volley.
Plzen, who had initially appeared prepared to wait it out and annoy the Edinburgh team, put in a solid performance in the second half.
Within minutes of the half, Daniel Vasulin had three great opportunities to put the visitors ahead. First, Taylor and Stephen Kingsley made wonderful goal-saving tackles, and then the striker missed a header from a corner.
Hearts exerted some early pressure in the second half, but Plzen performed admirably to blunt the hosts’ comeback attempts.
In the sixty-fourth minute, Vasulin gave the away team a near-goal, but goalie Craig Gordon stopped him with a great save after Vasulin had positioned himself clearly 12 yards out.
The Jambos changed from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 lineup, adding creative players Blair Spittal, Yan Dhanda, and Yutaro Oda. They came agonizingly near in the 75th minute when Marian Tvrdon made saves to deny Taylor and Kingsley in short succession.
A minute later, when Frankie Kent‘s careless ball allowed the Czechs to start a counterattack down the right, Cerv fired in a low shot from the edge of the box to give his team a 2-0 aggregate lead. The goalkeeper’s intervention proved crucial.
