Tynecastle side lost narrowly in the Doosan Arena

Steven Naismith refused to blame Daniel Oyegoke for Hearts’ Europa League defeat following the defender’s own goal against Viktoria Plzen. The Tynecastle coach insisted his team will be ready for the Czechs in Edinburgh next week and urged 18,000 supporters to create a typically raucous atmosphere.

Oyegoke’s knee inadvertently prodded a cross by the Plzen substitute Cadu into his own net via the post in stoppage time in Czechia. That left Hearts with a 1-0 deficit heading back to Edinburgh for the second leg of this play-off tie. It was a result they did not deserve after a strong and disciplined display.

Naismith refused to apportion blame to 21-year-old Oyegoke, who arrived at Tynecastle Park this summer from Brentford. The defender had replaced Gerald Taylor late in the match and looked dejected at full-time.

“There's no blame attached. It's one moment in a game,” explained Naismith. “I thought when Daniel came on he was really good and he was aggressive defensively. You go into every game wanting to win and if not then you want to draw. When you get a defeat you are disappointed but there are loads of positives. The tie is in the balance. It would be nice to go back to Tynie at 0-0. We need to make sure Tynie is rocking and hopefully put on a similar performance and take some of the good chances we had tonight.

“It’s small margins in football. I've been here as a player. Overall the performance was excellent. We were disciplined out of possession and understood when to win the ball. We started well and took 10 minutes to get real belief we could hurt them, after that we did. It's a really close tie. It's a blow losing the goal. Last season was similar and this was a better performance than Rosenborg. We know we are still right in the tie.”

Naismith noted a maturity in his side as the away team in a European tie and was happy with how they managed most of the evening. “Yes, I did see it. In a two-legged tie, it's easy to charge out and make a tackle or forward run when it's not right. We were really disciplined. This is a really good team. Their chances were from distance. We created some chances in the first half. When we were vulnerable I thought we dealt with them really well.”

The Tynecastle manager rejected a question from Czech press that Hearts employed time-wasting tactics to run the clock down and ultimately paid the price. “No. Both teams' players at times went down to try and get a foul,” he said. “Both teams got some and didn't get some. It's European football over two legs. Tactics from both teams were very similar.”

The Plzen coach Miroslav Koubek stated that he knew Hearts would look to use up time, but also praised the Scottish team. “One goal is obviously better than no goal so we have a better chance than if it was a draw,” he admitted. “We knew Hearts would play defensively and they would waste time. I told my players at half-time to be patient and they would be rewarded, and they were.

“I would like to give credit to Hearts, they played very well. They showed good quality and it is not by chance they are the third team in the Scottish Premiership. We must be proactive in our play because in their stadium with 20,000 it will be very difficult. We must defend well but be good going forward.”

Naismith is already looking forward to next Thursday’s return leg. “Inevitably it will be a different tie at Tynecastle, like Rosenborg last year. We'll have 18,000 fans, the atmosphere will be electric and we will be the comfort of our home stadium. Being at home, we hope to create as good or better chances as tonight but we need to understand Plzen have a real threat. They have a style and system they play regardless. Being at home with the fans behind us will definitely make an impact.”

Acknowledged his team need to start scoring more goals, he added: “We haven't been clinical enough, that's why we are out of the [League] Cup. We created good chances in every game and that's a positive. I felt we weren't creating them at the start of last season. We just haven't taken them and that impacts games. I'm confident the guys we have will definitely score goals.”

Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon set a new club record by making his 23rd European appearance against Plzen. Fellow goalkeeper Zander Clark had a back problem but Naismith stressed there was no late change to his plans. “Craig was always going to start. We found out Zander had a back spasm today,” he explained. “It's another record Craig has managed to get. He showed his quality in particular with one of the saves tonight. It's a disappointing result but a good night for Craig.”