Craig Gordon sets a new Hearts record against Viktoria Plzen with Zander Clark absent
The keeper has played in Europe more than any other Tynecastle player
Craig Gordon sets a new European appearance record for Hearts after being named in the team to face Viktoria Plzen in Czechia this evening. He kept his place following the weekend defeat at Falkirk and is now poised to add the honour of representing the Edinburgh club in Europe more times than anyone else in history.
Tonight’s outing is Gordon’s 23rd for Hearts in European competition, beating the previous record of 22 set by Steven Pressley and Henry Smith. The 41-year-old goalkeeper has had to wait since equalling the record against Istanbul Basaksehir in November 2022. He is now finally out on his own in terms of European appearances.
Fellow goalkeeper Zander Clark is a notable absentee from the Hearts matchday squad for the first leg of the Europa League play-off here in Plzen. He had played against Rangers and Dundee in the club’s first two league games and was an unused substitute against Falkirk, however he did not make the bench in the Doosan Arena. The reason given was a back injury, with Ryan Fulton named substitute goalkeeper.
The Hearts head coach Steven Naismith chose a 3-5-2 formation for this game, with Gordon in goal behind a back three of Stephen Kingsley, Frankie Kent and Kye Rowles. Gerald Taylor and James Penrice are the wing-backs, with a three-man midfield of Cammy Devlin, Malachi Boateng and Jorge Grant. Kenneth Vargas and Lawrence Shankland are the forwards.