Sturm Graz 4-0 Hearts: Player ratings, defensive issues, Arnold Schwarzenegger and a message for the SFA

In the Austrian city which spawned Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hearts found themselves outmuscled and overpowered in their first Champions League qualifying tie for 20 years. Sturm Graz recorded a convincing 4-0 victory at the Liebenauer Stadium and will therefore travel to Edinburgh brimming with confidence for next Tuesday’s return leg.

Head coach Wouter Vrancken’s first competitive game in charge of Hearts saw them concede twice following set-plays, then lose third and fourth goals which effectively put this tie beyond them. Yet the Tynecastle side had clear chances, particularly in the first half. Landry Kabore and Alexandros Kyziridis both should have scored inside the penalty area with the scoreline at 1-0 and were left to rue the opportunities they squandered.

It was a lesson that profligacy has no place in the Champions League because at this level you will be punished. Captain Jon Gorenc Stankovic’s early header had Sturm 1-0 up at half-time in this second qualifying round, first leg. Recent signing Jeyland Mitchell, Luca Weinhandl and Jurgen Heil all scored inside a killer 14-minute period at the start of the second period as Hearts capitulated. Vrancken tried to rally his new side from the touchline and looked exasperated at times. Two new signings - Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Calvin Miller - played from the start and Fagan-Walcott was the better of the two on the night.

The huge deficit realistically leaves Hearts staring at a drop into the Europa League third qualifying round. They already know they will face St Gallen or Benfica in that competition. It is sure to be another difficult assignment. This game played out in bizarre fashion as the Scots enjoyed 67 per cent possession and caused a number of problems for Sturm when they attacked. Their major downfall was too much space in their defence, and no real barriers to stop the Graz attacks whenever the pace increased.

Vrancken started with an extremely attack-minded line-up. Scotland’s Player of the Year Braga roamed around behind striker Kabore, who was flanked by wingers Miller and Kyziridis. Sturm left one of their most influential players, the Georgian international midfielder Otar Kiteishvili, on the substitutes’ bench with a plan for him to impact a later part of the game if required.

More than 3,000 Sturm ultras filled their section at the Liebenauer’s home end 75 minutes before kick-off and were in the mood for some proper noise against the Scots. Hearts sold out their allocation of 1,349 tickets and, having partied in Graz’s central Hauptplatz all day, the travelling Jambos made a fair racket of their own. They know their team has safety nets in the Europa League and Conference League, but this was a rare outing in Europe’s premier club competition.

Unfortunately, they could only watch in horror as Sturm opened the scoring on three and a half minutes. A monstrous long throw by Mitchell looped towards Hearts’ back post. Rising to meet it above defender Jamie McCart and midfielder Oisin McEntee was Stankovic. His header from six yards left goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow helpless. If the atmosphere was loud beforehand, the locals then cranked things up a notch with their team in control.

Moments later, Seedy Jatta struck Schwolow’s left post after Stankovic’s head flick from a corner. It was another early warning sign in a free-flowing game. Hearts looked reasonably dangerous going forward but their defence was way too open, particularly down the right side when Christian Borchgrevink attacked. They were susceptible to quick counter-attacks from the Austrians as a result. Sturm knew to play balls forward quickly and invariably had attackers running into space in the opposition half.

Jacob Hodl’s 17th-minute run and deflected shot forced an important save from the legs of the diving Schwolow. At the opposite end, Braga forced the Sturm keeper Daniil Khudiakov down to his right to stop a 20-yard shot. Then came a fine surging run by McEntee into the home penalty area before a pass to Kabore. The Burkinabe’s first-time effort lacked power, though, and Khudiakov held what was Hearts’ best scoring chance at that stage.

An equally clear opportunity presented itself on 33 minutes. Mitchell’s pass out of defence to Stankovic was intercepted by Braga on the edge of the Sturm penalty box. He squared to the unmarked Kyziridis on the penalty spot, however the Greek’s nonchalant flick with the outside of his right boot saw the ball roll wide of target. A more powerful finish would almost certainly have brought Hearts the equaliser. Kyziridis sunk to his knees.

Just when they seemed to have weathered the early storm, Borchgrevink and Blair Spittal lost possession at a throw-in and Sturm broke forward on 36 minutes. Hungarian referee Gergo Bogar pointed to the penalty spot after Milne, Hearts’ captain for the night, slid in to challenge Szymon Wlodarczyk as he prepared to shoot. Bogar felt the ball struck Milne’s arm, the defender argued otherwise, and after a VAR touchline monitor review Bogar overturned his decision. That prompted repeated chants of “F*** the SFA” through to half-time from the Hearts support, who have not forgotten how last season ended in Scotland.

It was another chance to breathe again. Vrancken knew his team needed to be smarter with their defensive organisation in the second half. It didn’t happen. Kiteishvili replaced Simon Seidl before play restarted and promptly supplied the corner from which Sturm moved 2-0 ahead. His delivery to the back post was headed home by Mitchell from close range, giving the Austrians a firm grip of this tie.

On 54 minutes, Weinhandl converted a deflected effort with Hearts unable to clear their lines. Emran Soglo’s swinging cross struck the inside of Schwolow’s left post, and then Heil drove a fourth goal through Schwolow from a tight angle after linking with Weinhandl. By now, Sturm were cutting through their opponents with ease. The lack of challenges to deter the hosts would have been a concern for Vrancken.

He introduced a number of substitutes but, at 4-0 down, Hearts were facing a task as mountainous as some of Austria’s famous hills. They return to Scotland on Wednesday to regroup ahead of the return match with Sturm. It is too early to judge Vrancken less than a month since he took charge in Gorgie. Nonetheless, his team must improve, particularly in defence, before the Premiership season starts in early August.