'Tie isn’t over but it will take an almighty effort'
We asked for your views on Hearts’ 2-1 defeat at home to PAOK in the Europa Conference League play-off first leg.
Here’s what some of you said:
Hamish: The lads are playing well as usual, but we need more organisation in central defence.
Steve: Our midfield was non-existent. We badly need to sign a creative midfielder. Our defending at corners is very poor, it was the same against Kilmarnock. There was no one standing just outside the penalty box, it was a great effort from the players though.
Ali: It wasn’t a bad performance from Hearts but the little individual errors and wrong decisions caused them problems. The tie isn’t over but it will take an almighty effort over in Greece.
Mike: PAOK were average and we let them look better than they were. I still believe Toby Sibbick will stroll through the backline like a majestic stallion in the second leg.
Ian: We need to forget about Hearts winning in Greece, we're out. Only Zander Clark and Lawrence Shankland get pass marks from me. Kenneth Vargas looks as though he could be a dangerous player for us but he didn't receive the ball often enough. We need a midfielder who will run forward with the ball, not play from side to side. It’s time to take off the maroon-tinted glasses some are wearing.
Daniel: PAOK were good but I thought the Rosenborg side looked better. Thankfully it’s still all to play for but I think they’ll have an extra man in their fantastic fans in the return leg. I hope we can come away with securing group-stage football and additional funds for the club, but it really looks like a tall mountain to climb!
Alfie: It wasn’t great at all, some of the play was very sloppy and lazy. The poor refereeing didn’t help either, but we need to use this loss to our advantage in Greece next week. The pressure is on PAOK because they need to hold on to the lead for the whole game. We’ve got nothing to lose so we need to go for it. We did it last week and we can do it again.
Alan: The Greeks were technically superior but there was an edge to Hearts' play that merited a draw. Doing them on their on patch is a big ask; I'd like to see us focus on springing their high press using direct balls in and behind to utilise Vargas' pace.
Anon: Very unlucky silly mistake made the difference between the teams, their second goal was unstoppable. Hearts still have a fighting chance in the return.
