3 talking points as impressive Hearts fall short against Zurich to end Europa League dream

It was a night of disappointment for Hearts as they crashed out of the Europa League despite dominating proceedings against Zurich.

Robbie Neilson's team trailed from the first leg and knew they needed a big performance in front of an expectant home crowd to advance past the Swiss champions. For the most part they did that, and yet it still wasn't enough as Jorge Grant's red card for simulation proved costly.

They dominated the first 45 with Liam Boyce, Lawrence Shankland and Alan Forrest all looking dangerous in an attacking lineup from Neilson. But they couldn't find a way through a resilient visiting back line that seemed to take more confidence from every attack they repelled.

If they were holding out for a moment of genius or a silly mistake to see them through, they got the latter. Grant went down in the box screaming for a penalty shortly before the half-hour mark, but a gutsy call from the referee saw him shown a second yellow card instead and he walked.

It was always going to be difficult for Hearts from there and so it proved. Their fate was virtually sealed on 80 minutes when Fabian Rohner struck, sending Hearts crashing into tomorrow's Conference League draw.

Here is Record Sport's 3 talking points.

The fact Ange Postecoglou is a big fan of Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin tells you all about his quality. But the little Aussie proved it on the European stage last night with an outstanding display for the Jambos.

Every player in maroon showed they can cut it at this level by dominating Zurich at Tynecastle for long spells in the game - but Devlin was the star man. Right from the off, he set the tempo for Robbie Neilson’s side in their engine room.

His positioning was terrific, as he read the game