Sturm Graz beat Hearts 4-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying round tie at the Liebenauer Stadium, leaving the Scottish side’s European ambitions in limbo. Wouter Vranken’s managerial debut for the Jam Tarts soon turned into a nightmare, as his team were brutally punished by a clinical Austrian outfit.
The match got into action almost immediately. Sturm Graz drew first blood inside four minutes when John Gorenc Stankovic took advantage of Hearts’ early defensive weakness from a set-piece and escaped his marker to power in a header from a long throw. It set the stage for a punishing evening for the visitors, who were struggling to cope with a consistently poor situation despite a summer coaching shakeup.
Hearts showed a brief glimpse of promise in the first half. Harry Milne forced an early save, while Claudio Braga tested the Graz goalkeeper with a thunderous effort. Landry Kabor missed a golden chance from ten yards after Oisin McEntee made a dashing run, and Alexandros Kyziridis missed an even more clear chance after excellent play from Braga. The visitors’ best spell was marred by profligacy in front of goal and their hopes were further dashed as VAR overturned a controversial penalty decision initially awarded against Milne for handball.
After the break, Sturm Graz shifted into second gear. Jland Mitchell doubled the lead in the 50th minute, taking advantage of poor marking to nod in from close range after a corner, Hearts goalkeeper Alexander Schwalo was caught out of position. Just three minutes later, Luca Weinhandel fired the third, his effort deflected off Milne as the Scottish defense failed to clear their lines decisively.
Imran Soglo crashed the post and moments later Jurgen Heil scored the fourth goal for Graz in the 59th minute and continued the attack by easily beating the stationary Schwollo at the near post after a slick return ball. Hearts’ response to the tie slipping away was weak. McEntee missed a free header, McCartt’s aerial effort remained unconverted and Tom Renaud fired two long-range shots over the bar.
Hearts, missing Lawrence Shankland and Cammy Devlin, who followed former manager Derek McInnes to Rangers, introduced two debutants – Kelvin Miller and Malachi Fagan-Walcott – to inject new energy. However, the changes proved largely futile against a Graz side who seemed satisfied with their strong lead.
With the second leg at Tynecastle coming up, Hearts face an almost insurmountable task of overcoming the deficit, and even a place in the Europa League now appears uncertain, with possible meetings against Benfica or St. Gallen for the losers.
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