Athens break Hearts

After two goals in the last two minutes sunk Hearts at Tynecastle in the first leg a fortnight previously, the Hearts goalkeeper, Craig Gordon described the game as "the biggest" in the club's history.

With top scorer Roman Bednar missing through a foot injury, Hearts afforded 18-year-old Scottish forward Jamie Mole his full debut, up front as the lone striker.

"Welcome to Hell" banners greeted the Scottish team, but judging by their pertinacious start, they were not intimidated.

The wheels began to fall off for Hearts, however, when French midfielder Julien Breller received a second booking for an innocuous aerial challenge after 29 minutes. He had been booked originally by the Russian referee Yuri Baskakov for failing to remove an earring.

Hearts, with their backs to the wall, reached half time with no goals conceded, despite AEK's constant pressure. The sense of injustice felt by the Hearts team was tangible, and one sensed that they would be fired up for the second half.

Neil McCann, the Hearts midfielder, was a little too fired up as his team pushed forward to score the two goals that would take them through. He received a straight red card for an ill-timed lunge on 63 minutes. With just under 30 minutes to go Hearts had it all to do, and only nine men with which to do it.

The Scottish team struggled to hold AEK's forwards as they indulged themselves in the extra space. It would only be a matter of time before AEK scored.

When the hobbling left-back Panagiotis Fyssas felled a marauding AEK attacker on 77 minutes, Julio Cesar converted the penalty, wrong footing Hearts keeper Craig Gordon.

Dejected, the Hearts players' heads dropped, and AEK striker Nikos Liberopoulos scored a second goal on 81 minutes - a header after getting in between Hearts' two central defenders.

Hearts' misery was compounded when Cesar slalomed his way through the tired Hearts defence, and dabbed the ball home to score his second of the game in the 85th minute.

Whereas AEK Athens went through to the lucrative group stages of the Champions League, Hearts will wait to hear who they will play in the UEFA Cup when the draw is made on Friday.