Steven Naismith swerves Hearts Euro blame game as he demands Rosenborg repeat against Plzen
Disappointed Steven Naismith refused to blame Daniel Oyegoke and insisted Hearts can still save their Europa League dream at Tynecastle.
The Jambos faced the heartbreak of a 96th minute defeat, after sub Oyegoke put into his own net, away to Viktoria Plzen. Hearts now need to overcome the 1-0 defeat in Gorgie next week if they want to make the Europa League proper for the first time. Naismith said: "There's no blame attached. It's one moment in a game. I thought when Daniel came on he was really good and he was aggressive defensively.
"You go into every game wanting to win and if not then you want to draw. When you get a defeat you are disappointed but there are loads of positives. The tie is in the balance. It would be nice to go back to Tynie at 0-0. We need to make sure Tynie is rocking and hopefully put on a similar performance and take some of the good chances we had tonight.”
Hearts turned their European tie around against Rosenborg at home last season and is looking for something similar again. Naismith stated: “Inevitably it will be a different tie at Tynie like Rosenborg. We'll have 18,000 fans, the atmosphere will be electric and we will have the comfort of our home stadium.
"That always gives you a nice bit of comfort. Being at home, we hope to create as good or better chances as tonight but we need to understand Plzen has a real threat. They have a style and system they play regardless. Being at home with the fans behind us will definitely make an impact.”
Naismith also paid tribute to Craig Gordon for making history and becoming the most European appearances for Hearts. That was his 23rd. Naismith revealed that Zander Clark had suffered a back injury but Gordon was always going to start.
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