Hearts beaten 3-1 by Thun in the Conference League

Hearts were beaten 3-1 by Thun in Switzerland in the Conference League, after a match the Scottish side made difficult for themselves. The defeat leaves Hearts with one point from three games in the competition, following a home draw with Nordsjaelland and an away loss to Trabzonspor.

The game was halted shortly after kick-off by thick smoke from a pyrotechnic device. Play resumed after a lengthy delay, and Josh McPake then forced a save from Niklas Steffen with an angled effort that lacked power. Nine minutes were added at the end of the first half.

Hearts were also short-handed: head coach Wouter Vrancken was without 10 players because of various fitness problems. In the 22nd minute, Jamie McCart put the ball into his own net when a back-pass evaded goalkeeper Beau Reus and rolled into the corner. Hearts’ defence was breached again in the 33rd minute. Brighton Labeau extended Thun’s lead after a move involving Nils Reichmuth’s cross and a failed clearance from Stephen Kingsley.

After the break, Reus saved attempts from Furkan Dursun and then Reichmuth. The goalkeeper was beaten in the 56th minute when Dursun got a touch to Reichmuth’s cross. On the hour, Nico Maier got clear of the Hearts defence, but his chip went wide. Kingsley later went off injured and was replaced by 19-year-old Matthew Gillies, recalled from his loan at Stenhousemuir.

Stuart Findlay headed in to reduce the deficit in the 82nd minute, but Hearts could not avoid defeat. Dursun had been shown a yellow card for a forearm to Findlay’s face. Hearts also threatened from a free-kick, when Steffen produced an excellent save to deny Malachi Fagan-Walcott’s header from Jordi Altena’s delivery.

After the match, Vrancken urged his side to stay together: “We have to stick together now. We know which situation we're in with all the circumstances.” He also said the performance had not been good enough in quality, while adding that he remained proud of what his players had already done in the build-up games.