Robbie Neilson has hailed his Hearts stars as 'absolutely outstanding' in their narrow defeat to FC Zurich as he delivered an injury update on Craig Halkett.
The Jambos' key defender was forced off after just seven minutes in their Europa League play-off clash in Switzerland. It was a major blow early on for the capital club and the travelling support. Lawrence Shankland netted a stunning penalty to send the away section wild and give the Tynecastle men the advantage but the Swiss champions turned the game on its head inside a couple of first-half minutes to gain control of the tie. Scotland No1 and Hearts skipper Craig Gordon stood no chance with either goal as he made a number of key saves including a massive stop in the final minute.
With the tie finely poised at 2-1 going into next week's return at Tynecastle, the Hearts fans will be dreaming of the Europa League group stage with Zurich set for a wall of noise in Gorgie. The atmosphere will be electric and Neilson is delighted they've given themselves a real chance after the away tie. He said: “I was delighted with the performance of the players, I thought they were absolutely outstanding tonight.
