DREADING THE BOARDS
Stage was set for Jambos to claim famous scalp but they fluffed their lines and curtain is now closing on second spot
A PLAY, A Pie and A Pint was an alternative entertainment in Edinburgh last night – just a short walk from where Hearts were being taken apart at Tynecastle.
He Who Opens the Door at the Traverse Theatre, is about two women who wake up to find themselves trapped in a morgue. Are they actually dead and being held in limbo?
Only the unkind would suggest the Jambos are turning European nights in the capital into something similar after another nightmarish storyline in defeat to Fiorentina.
The famous purple jerseys may have been white for the occasion as they buried Robbie Neilson’s side under three goals.
It may not have been as brutal as the 4-0 loss in Gorgie against Istanbul Basaksehir but it could prove to be a result which all but delivered the last rites to the Jambos’ Europa Conference League ambitions. Just like the dark comedy down the road, the 10-man Jambos could only accept a sobering reality that their campaign is already in suspended animation.
Neilson made three changes from the side beaten 4-0 by Rangers last weekend with red-card sinner Cammy Devlin demoted to the bench.
Alan Forrest and Stephen Humphrys also dropped out as Jorge Grant, Josh Ginnelly and Andy Halliday were drafted into the starting line-up for a clash which could set a course for either Europa Conference League progress or failure.
Fiorentina, on the other hand, were on a mission to put some fire into their season having won only once in their last 10 and astonishingly, without a win on the road since way back in April.
The significance of a night out in Edinburgh for La Viola wasn’t lost on head coach Vincenzo Italiano who had stated his belief that it was all or nothing for his team after a start which had brought only one point and left them bottom of Group A at kick-off.
Nobody was being fooled by the list of damning figures being racked up by the side sitting in 11th spot in Serie A – they had an array of attacking weapons at their disposal.
Amongst them was Luka Jovic, who Real Madrid forked out 60million euros for three years ago.
The Serbian striker, though, had found the net only once in 11 matches but there was a feeling in Gorgie that this would be an occasion where something had to give for both sides.
Istanbul Basaksehir were clear at the top of the group, despite being held to a 0-0 Rigas FS last night, which just underlined it was all still to play for in the fight for second spot.
Leading out the Jambos was skipper Craig Gordon, who had made his debut for the club exactly 20 years ago to the day as a teenager against Livingston.
But he was picking the ball out of his net in just the fourth minute on what was looking like an increasingly miserable anniversary.
Fiorentina moved the ball from side to side before Aleksa Terzic floated a cross from the right into the six-yard box and, as the home defence parted, Rolando Mandragora planted a header low past Gordon.
An alarming switching off and lack of awareness from the backline and instant deflation inside Tynecastle.
Michael Smith could have provided the perfect response moments later but his header from Barrie McKay’s delivery was straight into the hands of keeper Pierluigi Gollini.
At least it offered the men in maroon some encouragement.
It was all a bit ominous for Hearts as more abdication of defensive duties allowed Jovic to get a free header in the 14th minute but he nodded wastefully over the top.
Neilson was a flurry of arms and shouts as he attempted to get his defenders to restore some order.
Moroccan playmaker Sofyan Amrabat was pulling the strings superbly for his side as Fiorentina were squeezing the life out of their hosts during a first half of impressive and almost absolute dominance.
It would have been worse had Gordon not managed to turn Igor Julio’s rasping drive wide for a corner at full stretch and then Jovic was wild with a shot from 20 yards. Those warnings, though, weren’t being heeded and Ivory Coast international Christian Kouame made it two just before the break with an acrobatic volley which flew past Gordon after his defence had abandoned him at another crucial moment.
Ginnelly offered a glimmer of hope in the 45th minute with a shot from the angle which was beaten away by the legs of Gollini.
The Florence side had oozed class and quality in every department, with the only blessing for the hosts at halftime being that they were somehow only two down and not on the end of a greater humbling.
However, that looked a distinct possibility when Lewis Neilson saw red for a last man foul on Jovic, leaving his side to play the majority of the second half with 10 men.
Neilson threw on Humphrys and Devlin in a bid to try and claim some control of a game now being played almost entirely in their own half.
Humphrys’ ability to hold the ball up and run at Fiorentina finally gave Hearts a foot hold in the game, but they were still unable to create any clear-cut chances.
Having found a cure for their travel sickness the Italians, maybe as a courtesy, took their foot off of the gas as periods of the second half were litle more than pedestrian from the visitors.
There was to be a third goal, though, as Jovic tapped in from closerange in the 79th minute to put a further shine on a result which now puts them in a far healthier footing in the group.
And it doesn’t bode well for Hearts ahead of the return fixture in Italy next Thursday.