Hearts face their Bermuda Triangle fate in Vienna as they look to eclipse Estonia, Latvia and Belarus moments
Wouter Vrancken’s side bid to reach the UEFA Conference League
Vienna’s Bermuda Triangle district is characterised by cobbled streets, bars and lively nightlife. So-called because tourists will enter the area and become intoxicated in the maze of narrow roads, then figuratively disappear or lose all memory of the night. Whether that happens to some Hearts fans or not, their team must avoid getting lost among the long list of teams exiting European competitions this summer.
The Edinburgh club are in the Austrian capital to face Rapid Vienna for the right to progress to the UEFA Conference League. This play-off is finely-poised after last week’s 2-2 first-leg draw in Edinburgh, but for the losers there is no safety net. Hearts have exited the Champions League qualifiers and Europa League qualifiers with dozens of other clubs. Now they must avoid outright elimination from European football.
From Graz’s Mur River, to Lisbon’s Tagus, to Vienna’s Danube, the Tynecastle support have travelled a fair distance in recent weeks. The joy of seeing Hearts reach the Conference League’s main phase would be a lifetime memory. Whatever antics might have gone on inside the Bermuda Triangle, they would be eclipsed by partying Jambos if their side oust Rapid. Hearts have beaten teams from Estonia, Latvia and Belarus away from home in Europe in recent years, but haven’t managed to win on foreign soil against any mid-tier or higher-tier side since Basel in 2004.
Sturm Graz is done, Benfica is done, the Champions League and Europa League are gone for Hearts. The Conference League offers one final opportunity to extend this crusade into more European cities. “It's massive,” admits midfielder Blair Spittal. “The last two ties, it was kind of hard going into the second leg after what happened in the first. I think you can see that the second leg against Benfica has given us momentum in the last couple of weeks that we've built up to now. So we've given ourselves a good opportunity that we can capitalise on.”
Hearts beat Austria Vienna 1-0 in 1988 in their previous competitive visit to this city. “I saw a few things in the press this week talking about it,” adds Spittal. “I saw a few things about Hearts' away record since then in Europe not being the best. In my time here, we have won games away from home in Europe - only one [Dinamo Minsk] - but it's good memories to look back on.”
Spittal played and scored in the Conference League two years ago as Hearts beat Dinamo in Azerbaijan and Omonoia Nicosia at Tynecastle. They then lost against Heidenheim, Cercle Brugge and Copenhagen before a draw at home to Petrocub knocked them out of the league stage on goal difference. “It feels like unfinished business because we didn't get through it,” says Spittal. “I think we started the league phase ever so well. I remember there being a stat about what percentage chance we had of going through the group after the first few games.
“We managed to muck that up if I'm being honest, so there's a wee bit of a sour taste from that perspective. Like I said, if we can go through, we can definitely advance to the next round. Obviously, coming into the club, that was one of the reasons I wanted to come here, to play in these special European occasions. So that Omonoia game was something right up there. Tomorrow will be up there as well. We just need to make sure we do ourselves justice.”
Memories of that 2024/25 campaign are still spurring players who were involved on. “A wee bit. That wasn't a great season for the club, but since then we've taken massive strides and we're in a good place,” explains Spittal. “So the two previous ties we've had, we've played against some top teams, and I think it's another good team tomorrow. We know we need to be at our best to get into a position to go through.
“It's finely in the balance. I think that was the most important thing after last week's tie, that we gave ourselves something to hang on to and play for in the second leg. I think we managed to do that. Obviously, we would have liked to have had the lead, but there's nothing we can do about that now. We've learned our lessons from last week and we will give it our best shot tomorrow.
“We'd like to keep their chances to a minimum. We've got the capability to score goals, I think you can see that in the last couple of weeks. I think you can see the progress in the team, so the main thing tomorrow is that we go out and put on a performance.”