Vrancken Praises Hearts' Effort Despite UEFA Conference League Loss to Trabzonspor
Manager Wouter Vrancken expresses pride in his injury-plagued team's performance against Trabzonspor, highlighting resilience and quality on the ball despite a 2-0 defeat.
Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken stated he was proud of his team's effort in their UEFA Conference League match against Trabzonspor, which they lost 2-0. The squad, facing significant injuries, showed improvement from their previous league performance against Celtic.
Despite being a depleted team with several players out of their usual positions, Hearts competed well throughout the match. Malachi Fagan-Walcott missed an early opportunity to put Hearts ahead. The team also dealt with further injury setbacks during the game, with left-back Harry Milne suffering a knee injury in training prior to the match and right-back Christian Borchgrevink sustaining a hamstring strain during the game.
Trabzonspor secured their victory with a penalty from Mo Salah and another goal from his strike partner Franculino. Vrancken acknowledged the quality of the opposition, noting Salah's status as one of Europe's top players and Trabzonspor's significant investment in their squad. He emphasized that Hearts had to contend with the absence of key midfielders and defenders.
"I was happy to see that we could put our foot next to Trabzonspor," Vrancken said. "You know the qualities they have, and you know the money they spent, the quality of the players. With Salah, still one of the best in Europe. At the same time, we had to miss six central midfielders and a bunch of defenders. But yeah, really proud of the guys and the performance today. We stuck together, we fought as a team, and also on the ball we had quality."
He added, "We had chances and I think we showed our quality at times. I am proud of the guys and what they did. I think they deserve credit. It’s just a pity that you cannot have a result. On the other hand, we bounced back, I think, from the weekend, and we have to take this feeling to the next weekend."
Rogers Mato, typically a forward, deputized at left-back following Milne's injury and performed adequately against Salah. Vrancken confirmed that the club would await scan results for Milne's knee injury upon their return to Scotland. "Yeah, unbelievable actually, because without contact, he got an injury," Vrancken commented on Milne's injury. "We’ll see probably when we’re back when we can make a scan to see how it is. It’s crazy because now it’s not about fatigue, it’s not about contact, it’s not about anything, this with him is just bad luck now. It’s his knee."