Hearts' Europa League Hopes Dashed by Viktoria Plzen as Craig Gordon Criticizes Team Errors

Hearts' Europa League ambitions came to a crashing halt with a fifth consecutive defeat, this time at the hands of Viktoria Plzen, as they fell 1-0 on the night and 2-0 on aggregate.

Having started the second leg trailing 1-0 from the first match in the Czech Republic, Hearts needed a strong performance at Tynecastle. However, despite making positive changes and showing signs of improvement in the second half, they were unable to break through.

The decisive moment came when Lukas Cerv calmly slotted a goal from the edge of the box, dampening the spirits of the home crowd and effectively ending Hearts' European campaign.

Hearts' goalkeeper Craig Gordon expressed frustration with the team’s performance, attributing their struggles to "crazy" errors. “Everybody's responsible as a team," Gordon told BBC Sport Scotland. "We've got to cut it out, we've got to stop it. We're beating ourselves more often than not. It's crazy stuff. I can't really understand why it's happening and in such a short space of time."

The match saw Daniel Vasulin come close for Plzen, only to be thwarted by Gordon and right-back Gerald Taylor. At the other end, Marian Tvrdon was rarely tested, managing only a few routine saves against Hearts’ efforts, including a deflected Taylor cross and a fierce drive from Stephen Kingsley.

The absence of captain Lawrence Shankland was felt, as Hearts struggled to make an impact in the final third and ultimately fell short. Despite the disappointment, Hearts have secured a spot in the Conference League and will learn their next opponents in Friday’s draw at 13:30 BST.