Hearts drew 2-2 with Rapid Vienna in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off round tie at Tynecastle Stadium on Thursday night.
Josh McPake and James Wilson scored second-half goals to turn the match around for Wouter Vrancken's side after Serge-Philippe Raux-Yao opened the scoring for the visitors. However, substitute Nikolaus Wurmbrand struck late to ensure the Austrian Bundesliga leaders left Edinburgh with a draw.
The result leaves Hearts facing a difficult task in the second leg in Vienna next Wednesday. The Scottish Premiership side have already been eliminated from the qualifying rounds of both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League this season, conceding 13 goals across ties against Sturm Graz and Benfica.
Hearts, based in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, play their home matches at Tynecastle Park. Rapid Vienna, one of Austria's most prominent clubs, arrived in Scotland having won all eight of their competitive matches this season while scoring 29 goals.
Early Rapid pressure and Reus saves
Rapid threatened early in the match, with Hearts goalkeeper Beau Reus called into action after nine minutes. Rapid moved through the home penalty area with pace and precision to set up Matthias Seidl one-on-one, but the Dutch goalkeeper saved the Rapid captain's shot.
Three minutes later, Jannes Horn sent in a cross from the left that Bendeguz Bolla met with a header from the edge of the six-yard box. Rapid's Hungarian defender began celebrating what appeared to be a goal, but Reus dived to his left to claw the ball away.
Claudio Braga helped relieve the early pressure with powerful running and clever positioning for Hearts. The Portuguese forward was named Scotland's Player of the Year last season and has continued to display high work rate despite speculation surrounding a potential transfer before the summer window closes. However, central striker Pierre Landry Kabore struggled to make an impact early on, drawing groans from the home crowd for holding onto possession too long.
Hearts created their own problems in defence, with right-back Jordi Altena targeted by the visiting side. In the 28th minute, Altena played a blind pass across his own defensive third straight to Danish striker Tonni Adamsen, whose weak shot was saved by Reus. Two minutes later, another mistake by Altena forced Oisin McEntee to concede a corner.
Bolla took the corner from the left and found Seidl on the edge of the penalty area. Seidl flicked the ball on to Raux-Yao, who headed past Reus from close range in the 30th minute. A lengthy VAR review checked for offside, but the goal was allowed to stand.
Hearts responded before the interval as McPake cut in from the left and hit a low shot that Rapid goalkeeper Niklas Hedl saved at his right-hand post. Braga then sent an effort narrowly wide from distance before Tom Renaud forced another save from Hedl.
Second-half comeback and Wilson strike
Hearts started the second half with increased intensity, with Braga seeing a shot deflected wide of Hedl's right-hand post. In the 56th minute, Kabore played a reverse pass to set McPake free on the left side of the penalty area. The former St Johnstone winger curled a shot that deflected off Raux-Yao and flew into the top corner of the net for the equaliser.
Kabore was replaced immediately after the goal by Wilson. Hearts continued to push forward, and defender Jamie McCart headed just wide of Hedl's left-hand post from a Blair Spittal corner.
Hearts took the lead after Reus sent a long clearance upfield to Wilson. The substitute gathered the ball 30 yards from goal, noticed Hedl off his line, and struck a shot over the goalkeeper into the top left-hand corner.
Rapid regained control during the final 20 minutes of the match. After Hearts failed to clear a corner in the closing stages, Wurmbrand's deflected shot beat Reus to level the score at 2-2. The teams will meet again in Vienna next Wednesday to decide who advances to the Conference League group phase.
