Liam Boyce: It's all on the line but Hearts can beat Zurich at Tynecastle and reach Europa League

Liam Boyce is confident Hearts can knock FC Zurich out of the Europa League at Tynecastle following a 2-1 first leg defeat in Switzerland.
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The Northern Irishman admitted his team did not reach peak performance in St Gallen’s Kybunpark but they remain very much in the tie.

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Despite the defeat, Boyce sensed that last season’s Swiss Super League champions are beatable as the teams prepare to meet again in Edinburgh next Thursday night. The aggregate winner will qualify for the Europa League group phase.

"We've come away from a game against the Swiss champions and we have come away still in the tie. We can now take it home and play in front of our own fans so we have something to look forward to next week,” said Boyce.

“It was an evenly-contested game at the start, then we get the penalty and it was a great finish from Shanks. For the next five minutes we were passing it well before one long ball over the top allows them in but it was a great finish to be fair. After conceding so quickly after that we did really well to see out the rest of the game.”

Some important Craig Gordon saves helped keep Hearts in the tie as Zurich became wasteful in front of goal. “They had a few chances but it's a good sign that after you concede a couple of goals you keep going on and on so that's a good positive,” declared Boyce.

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“Everyone knows at European level that, if you get the second leg at home, you have something to look forward to if you are still within touching distance. If we score first next week then the place will be rocking and those are the games you want to be playing in.

Liam Boyce is confident Hearts can eliminate FC Zurich from the Europa League.Liam Boyce is confident Hearts can eliminate FC Zurich from the Europa League.
Liam Boyce is confident Hearts can eliminate FC Zurich from the Europa League.

“It's all on the line and Zurich were what we expected. Apart from their quick double, I thought we did well. One hundred per cent we believe they are beatable as we also know we didn't play at our best tonight.”