ONE OF THE most inspirational occasions in Scottish sporting history began down in the tunnel at Murrayfield Stadium. Scotland’s rugby team claimed their 1990 Grand Slam rugby triumph owed itself to the players bursting into Flower of Scotland before defeating England — tonight, though, the roles will be reversed for Heart of Midlothian.
Craig Levein admitted yesterday that his players will have to be responsible for drumming up the atmosphere as they play their Uefa Cup first-round tie against Sporting Braga, of Portugal, in the unreal surroundings of the home of Scottish rugby.
Without the normal ally of Tynecastle, and its passionate backing, Hearts face a real task in an arena that will be four-fifths empty. Just under 13,000 tickets have been sold for the first-leg contest and while that would be fine in their own ground, it will echo around the cavernous Murrayfield.
The scenario could not be further removed from the Grand Slam drama 14 years ago, but Levein believes his players have a duty to produce the style of play that will lift those in the 67,500-seat stadium.
“An atmosphere is created by the supporters making a noise,” Levein said yesterday. “If we can put in a similar level of effort to what was on show against Rangers at the weekend and at the same time play a little bit better, then I’m sure they will have plenty to shout about.”
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The reasons for being at Murrayfield are contentious. Tynecastle’s playing surface, at 98 metres long, is 2 metres short of what Uefa demands for club competitions. Hearts sought out a temporary home for the European tie, though that could now become a permanent one if the sale of Tynecastle to developers goes through. The move, designed to clear off the club’s £18 million debt, has angered fans and many have boycotted tonight’s fixture.
“It is a magnificent stadium but the only thing we are not sure about is the atmosphere,” Levein said. “We have nothing at all to gauge it by and I think a lot of it will revolve around how we play.
“What we have to be is as positive as possible about going there and try our best to give the fans who turn up — and hopefully as many as possible come along — something to shout about.
“Trying to compare Tynecastle to Murrayfield is irrelevant to me — the only thing that is important is getting through this tie. And that is going to be difficult. Braga are a very good side and if we sit off them and let them play, they will kill us.
“We have to try to play our Scottish style of game and take something across to Portugal to defend. We have had the benefit of having played against Bordeaux last season so know roughly what to expect in terms of their quality.
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“We don’t want to be silly. If you look at the team, we are not a kamikaze side at the best of times. We are an honest, hard-working and determined team with good players. Hopefully we can get at least one goal to defend in Portugal but we are very mindful not to give anything away.”
Hearts trained on the Murrayfield surface on Tuesday and Levein insisted that “the pitch is in great condition” even if the grass has had to be trimmed shorter than it normally is for rugby.
Sporting Braga, who drew with FC Porto at the weekend in a Portuguese league match, believe the upheaval could takes it toll on Hearts. Jesulado Ferreira, the coach, said: “I think playing at Murrayfield could help my team — and I think Craig Levein feels the same.”
Hearts will rely greatly on Mark de Vries, even though the striker has played just 75 minutes of football — against Rangers — this season. The Dutchman’s height will be used to upset Braga the way it did Bordeuax last season, but Levein’s plans have been affected by the discovery that Graeme Weir has mumps and will not play, leaving the way clear for Dennis Wyness to partner de Vries.
Levein, though, rates Braga very highly. “In the last two years, they have spent a lot of money and they have brought in 12 new players this season,” the Hearts manager said. “Technically, they are better than us. However, they are a new team and last season they brought in eight players, so there has been a massive turnover.
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“When I saw them recently, their movement was incredible when they attacked but they did not look like a team. This will just be their third competitive match of the season. Our best chance is our unity and organisation. That is how we will get through.”
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN (probable; 4-4-2): C Gordon — R Neilson, S Pressley, A Webster, A Maybury — P Stamp, P Hartley, P Kisnorbo, J Hamill — M de Vries, D Wyness.
SPORTING BRAGA (possible; 4-4-2): Marcos — Abel, Nem, Jaime, Kenedy — P Sergio, Barroso, Vandinho, L Loureiro — C Costa, J Tomás. ERIC McCOWAT