Hearts

Robbie Neilson's men left Switzerland with a 2-1 defeat to reigning champions FC Zurich on Thursday evening as they seek to make the group stages of the ...

Will he put out his best line-up, lose the match anyway and tire out some of his players before Thursday’s crucial fixture? Or will he rest a few players knowing that, even if Hearts play well, the chance of success is slim? It’s been a long time since Hearts won in the east end of Glasgow and it’ll be interesting to see just how much stock Neilson places in the game.

A look back at the match in St Gallen on Thursday evening as Hearts lost 2-1 in the first leg of the Europa League play-off.

Michael Smith’s introduction, for Atkinson, helped calm things in the second period, where Sibbick looked stronger at full-back after the introductions of Liam Boyce and Alan Forrest saw the formation switch to a 4-4-2. The switch into the 3-5-2 made sense to keep things more robust defensively, to give the midfield more support and keep McKay in the team, but once Halkett went off it wasn’t as solid an option. They managed to spot the foul on Nathaniel Atkinson which gave Hearts their lead from the penalty spot and correctly waved away another couple of appeals. We could point to the sixth-minute injury to Craig Halkett, which forced the Hearts defender from the action, as a pivotal moment in the overall tie. There have been questions as to whether he should’ve just stuck with the same system which helped defeat Dundee United on Sunday, but even in that game Hearts didn’t play that well for much of the first half and, indeed, changed things into a 4-5-1 as it moved on. However, it’s harder to impact the game further forward and that’s what Barrie McKay managed to do.

Hearts' Thursday night European endeavours in Switzerland mean the Jambos are on Sunday service against champions Celtic.

On the opening day last season newly-promoted Hearts won a thriller at Tynecastle 3-2. [cover the game with BBC Sportsound from 2pm](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001bbgg). What channel is the Celtic game v Hearts on? Celtic, meanwhile are unbeaten since the season resumed. Hearts gave Celtic a scare on their last visit to the east end of Glasgow. Is it on TV?

Kybunpark's sound system played Eminem's “One Shot” as a pre-match ditty and that's exactly what Hearts bring back to Tynecastle Park next week: One final ...

Hearts did not clear successive crosses into their penalty area and, when Peter Haring stuck out a toe to connect with the second delivery from Guerrero, the ball landed with Dzemaili. A textbook long ball forward from goalkeeper Brecher wasn’t dealt with by the backpedalling Atkinson, who headed into the air. The second leg next Thursday evening promises to be a seismic occasion in front of a raucous Gorgie crowd. Gordon produced an outstanding save high to his left to thwart Dzemaili moments later, with Zurich breaking at high speed and Hearts retreating. They travel to Tynecastle hoping to capitalise on that lead with a capable forward line. A 2-1 defeat to FC Zurich in this play-off first leg is no disaster, albeit the Edinburgh club will perhaps feel they should have taken more after scoring first.

The former Tynecastle midfielder did not see anything from the home side tonight that his old club should be concerned about.

"He almost struck the right balance in terms of not over-committing. But Stewart rejected that, adding: "I thought the exact opposite. [Lawrence Shankland's](https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/all-about/lawrence-shankland) first half penalty cancelled out by strikes from Adrian Guerrero and Blerim Dzemaili. You saw what happened when Forrest and Boyce came on. Hearts looked comfortable although they were in a more defensive setup than you would expect at home. However, other than that period, Stewart wasn't overly impressed by Franco Froda's team.

Livingston have moved to replace Max Stryjek by signing former Morton stopper Jack Hamilton. The 28-year-old has been training with the Premiership club for ...

He has represented Scotland at all levels bar the first-team so he comes with a wealth of experience and gives us real competition in the goalkeeper area. Livi boss David Martindale said: "Jack has been in training with us for a few weeks now and looking really good. he became a free agent in the summer after electing to turn down a new deal at Cappielow.