Overview
- Hearts were eliminated after losing 2-0 at Tynecastle on Tuesday, completing a 6-0 aggregate defeat to Sturm Graz.
- Simon Seidl and Emran Soglo scored in the middle of the second half to settle the tie for the Austrians.
- Hearts had created many chances in the first leg, registering 19 shots and about 1.96 expected goals, but a failure to defend set pieces and Sturm Graz’s clinical finishing decided the tie.
- New manager Wouter Vrancken had called for a ‘magical’ comeback but could not overturn the deficit and goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow made his final appearance before agreeing to join Mainz 05.
- As a result Hearts drop into the Europa League third qualifying round to face the winner of Benfica v St Gallen and the tie’s build-up included conflicting reports over live broadcast availability.