Hearts barely laid a glove on Copenhagen tonight as they went down meekly in the Conference League.
It is a third straight defeat in the competition without scoring a goal, after winning the first two, and chances of making it to the knockout stages now go down to the wire with Moldovans Petrocub at home next week.
Hearts were outclassed by Copenhagen throughout but managed to keep it level during the first 45 minutes.
But poor defending early in the second allowed the Danes to take the lead through Amin Chiakha and a Kevin Diks penalty put the sale on things.
It could have been far worse but Craig Gordon did what he does to keep the score down with two or three remarkable saves.
The Jambos will need to improve at Tynecastle next week if they are to progress, with a big league game Kilmarnock up first on Sunday.
Hearts fans criticise Copenhagen display
Hearts fans have mostly got behind new manager Neil Critchley and the team since his appointment. But they remain near the bottom of the league despite improved performances.
They weren’t impressed with the last European game away to Cercle Brugge and it was the same tonight.
For the most part, supporters saw it as a poor display despite being up against a strong outfit.
One Hearts fan said on social media: “A decent side but f**k me didn’t lay a glove on them. Honking! Sunday is massive.”
Another wrote: “A midfield 3 that isn’t stopping forward passes, a forward 3 that look lost and we have nullified Spittal and Penrice on the left.”
This fan said: “Deserved to lose. Never a penalty, but we offered absolutely nothing going forward. Even at 1-0, our attackers need to do more instead of just walking or playing it safe. So poor.”
While another one added: “Hopefully next time the team might actually be interested in offering something going forward. 90 mins of defending isn’t good enough, even if Copenhagen were very good.”
Hearts fans pile in on referee
It wasn’t just the team getting it in the neck through with Andrea Colombo and his VAR team heavily criticised for the second half penalty goal.
Craig Gordon came out to meet Mohammed Elyounoussi and appeared to get a touch on the ball, with the whistler initially giving the foul the other way.
But after a VAR review, it was changed to a spot kick and Jambos weren’t happy.
| Hearts’ last three Conference League games | |
| Hearts 0-2 Heidenheim | L |
| Cercle Brugge 2-0 Hearts | L |
| Copenhagen 2-0 Hearts | L |
One said: “That’s a shocking decision to give a penalty. Keepers not even allowed to come for a ball anymore?”
Another said: “Sorry but that’s an absolute joke to give a penalty for that.”
While another added: “Absolutely baffled how that’s a penalty. The only person in the stadium who thought it was a penalty was the referee.”