Mo Salah makes statement ahead of Hearts, Nordsjaelland confession and Conference League rivals under siege
Here’s how a range of Hearts’ European rivals got on during the Conference League’s opening night.
Hearts kicked off their league phase campaign in the Conference League with a 1-1 home draw against Danish side FC Nordsjaelland.
Oisin McEntee’s first half opener lifted the roof off Tynecastle but a deflected second half leveller for the visitors split the spoils. It proved frustrating for head coach Wouter Vrancken who’s side passed up chances to claim a vital second goal.
Following the Nordsjaelland encounter, Hearts will take on Trabzonspor in Turkey next week, with games against Thun, Monaco, Borac Banja Luka and Pafos to follow before Christmas. Here’s how Hearts’ European rivals got on across matchday one of the competition.
FC Nordsjaelland
Nordsjaelland head coach Jens Fonsskov Olsen admitted after his side’s match in Gorgie that they were fortunate to get in at half-time just the one goal down. Half-time changes were needed and in the end he felt a draw was fair.
Olsen said: “We were under pressure in the last five to seven minutes of the first half, where it's good that we come in only 0-1 behind. I think the things we fixed at halftime were implemented by the players. There were some who didn't quite live up to their potential, but there were also some good performances in between. We keep going for it in the second half and get that goal. We control a lot and a draw is a reasonable outcome of the game,
Trabzonspor
Plenty of attention ahead of the match against Super Lig opposition has been on Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool icon joined from Anfield in the summer and made a statement against KuPS that he is indeed a player who must be tamed if Hearts are to have any chance of success away from home. He scored and assisted in the first half as Trabzonspor won 4-2 in Finland. Salah created two big chances and made six passes into the final third while Portuguese forward Franculino grabbed a brace.
Monaco
Ligue 1 side Monaco made hard work of their opener but eventually emerged 2-1 winners away from home against Bulgarian outfit CSKA Sofia. Paris Brunner scored then set up Ansu Fati in the first half but Joel Zwarts made things nervy by halving the deficit. CSKA had 21 shots at goal and registered almost the same amount of expected goals as Monaco but the French side kicked off their campaign on the right note ahead of hosting Bundesliga side Freiburg.
Borac Banja Luka
Bosnian club Borac faced an attacking barrage against Panathinaikos in Greece before being edged out 2-1. Their fancied hosts registered an eyebrow-raising 31 shots, obtained 62% possession, and registered an expected goals tally of almost four but were wasteful in front of the net. Former Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers and Kings Kangwa put Panathinaikos ahead but Milos Jojic made things tight towards the end with a Borac reply. They host KuPS next.
Pafos
Perhaps the toughest test any of Hearts’ opponents had were their Cypriot foes, travelling to Serie A’s Atalanta, who showed them their full mettle. They conceded within a minute and again before the 20th-minute mark to spark fears of a pasting. A third was given up before the break but Pafos eventually scored and lost 3-1. Tests won’t come much tougher than this and next week’s home tie with Riga will be viewed as a major chance to gain three points.
Thun
A Swiss away day awaits Hearts before the next international break and Thun were left to rue a red card in their 1-0 loss against FC Twente. The Eredivisie side were favoured at home but the deadlock had not been broken by the hour mark. Patrik Kristal’s sending off proved costly and Ramiz Zerrouki scored soon after to win the game for FC Twente. Thun host Hadjuk Split next week.
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