Viktoria Plzen 1-0 Hearts: Analysis

Thomas Duncan, BBC Sport Scotland

Hearts pitched up in the Czech Republic winless in their opening three games and on the back of a stinging League Cup exit at the hands of second-tier Falkirk.

Criticism swirled about too much rotation, and too much tactical tweaking.

Undeterred, Naismith made five changes and reverted to a back three again and, after riding an early storm in which Plzen stroked the ball about, Hearts settled.

The returning Frankie Kent was excellent in defence, and the midfield of Malachi Boateng, Cammy Devlin and Jorge Grant started to get on the ball and find gaps.

Kenneth Vargas got into great positions, but never found the required composure to grab an all-important goal.

Overall, it was promising against a side who had only lost to Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich at home in Europe since 2017.

Plzen had also only conceded one goal in their five league games so far this season.

That makes Daniel Oyegoke's lapse all the more frustrating as Plzen's visible alarm at the 0-0 scoreline told you how much they wanted to take a lead to Edinburgh.

Now they have it they will feel confident, but with Tynecastle behind them and having seen their opponents close up, Hearts will not shirk the challenge next week.