Hearts stay perfect in Conference League by beating Omonia Nicosia
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Neil Critchley had a solid beginning as the manager of Hearts, as the team secured a straightforward 2-0 victory at home against Omonia Nicosia. This win kept the Edinburgh club's flawless start to their Conference League campaign intact.
After a convincing 4-0 win against St Mirren on Saturday, the Jambos are riding high in their new manager's debut match, taking over from Steven Naismith. Under the Englishman’s leadership, they secured a second consecutive victory, comfortably defeating their Cypriot opponents with first-half goals from Alan Forrest and Blair Spittal.
Hearts, who are currently tied with their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership, are also sitting at the top of the early Conference League standings. They appear poised to maintain their presence in European competitions past Christmas, which would be a significant achievement—marking the first time they've done so since making it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in the 1988-89 season.
Critchley, keeping in mind the important match against Hibs at the bottom of the standings this Sunday, altered the lineup by making four substitutions from the team that triumphed over St Mirren. Adam Forrester, Stephen Kingsley, Cammy Devlin, and Forrest came on for Daniel Oyegoke, James Penrice, Beni Baningime, and Yan Dhanda.
Before the match, Omonia's coach Valdas Dambrauskas expressed his happiness about being at Tynecastle. He reminisced about the many Lithuanian players, including some whom he was personally close to, who played there during the time when Kaunas businessman Vladimir Romanov owned Hearts earlier in the century.
Dambrauskas’ anticipation for the match quickly turned into anxiety as his team, which had suffered defeats in three of their last four games in the Cypriot top division, got off to a dismal start in Edinburgh.
Hearts made their intentions clear right from the start when Spittal attempted a volley from the edge of the penalty area just 15 seconds into the game.
Critchley's passionate team posed another threat when Lawrence Shankland, who received a yellow card within the first three minutes for a dangerous tackle, charged purposefully into the penalty area. However, the captain couldn't manage to take a shot on goal.
The hosts came out strong and reaped the rewards in the 16th minute. Spittal took a shot from outside the box that deflected off Senou Coulibaly, and Forrest was quick to react. He seized the opportunity and unleashed a powerful angled shot from eight yards, sending it soaring past Fabiano into the net.
The visiting team was having a tough time, and their goalkeeper had to make a fantastic save in the 22nd minute, diving to his right to deflect Shankland’s low shot from 15 yards around the post. Following the corner kick that ensued, Frankie Kent headed the ball wide from just inside the six-yard box.
Just a minute later, Hearts extended their advantage when Spittal delivered a powerful right-footed shot from 16 yards, following a clever back-heel from Shankland that deflected perfectly into his path off Kenneth Vargas.
Spittal, who has now scored in three consecutive matches, came close to adding another goal a little over thirty minutes into the game. He made a strong run and shot just wide from the edge of the penalty area.
Before halftime, Omonia's best effort came from a couple of inaccurate headers by former Rangers defender Filip Helander in the final minutes of the first half. This was sandwiched between two significant chances for Shankland.
The Cypriot team performed better in the second half, but they seldom seemed likely to come back into the match. Meanwhile, Hearts positioned themselves well for their upcoming clash with Bundesliga team Heidenheim in two weeks.
