Can Hearts Cope in Denmark?

The Conference League is nearing its wrapping up point as far as the League stage is concerned, with the competition getting its exclusive week next week. But before we get there, we first have match day five to get through and that comes tonight for Hearts who are in Denmark to take on København (whom I’ll now refer to as Copenhagen for the rest of the blog). Kick off is at 5.45pm oor time and it’s live on TNT Sports 3.

Copenhagen are currently in nineteenth place, a point outside the knockout round seeded spots, four points behind the automatic last sixteen spots, and a point ahead of the elimination spots. Which is a long way from where a pot one team would expect to be, particularly one with the second highest coefficient of the entire competition!

They started out the league stage with a 2-1 defeat at home to Jagiellonia Bialystok. Pantelis Hatzidiakos had given Copenhagen an early lead, but Afimico Pululu levelled the game seconds after Mohamed Elyounoussi had a goal ruled out for offside early in the second half. Darko Churlinov then got the winner in the eighth minute of injury time. As happens a lot in these lower competitions, I can’t find footage of these if it doesn’t involve a British team.

Next up came a 1-1 draw away to Real Betis. Abdessamad Ezzalzouli scored early in the first half, but a Kevin Diks penalty pulled the game back for the visitors.

On match day three, Copenhagen drew 2-2 at home against Basaksehir. Philippe Keny gave the visitors the lead midway through the first half. It took until the last quarter of an hour before Amin Chiakha levelled the game for the hosts, only for Krzysztof Piatek to put the visitors back in front again. That lasted three minutes before Chiakha levelled a second time. Again, no footage of this one.

Last time out, Copenhagen won 2-1 away to Dinamo Minsk. Mohamed Elyounoussi opened the scoring early, but Raymond Adeola levelled a few minutes later. The winner came from spot ten minutes into the second half, Kevin Diks once again scoring that penalty. Again, no footage of that one.

Fortunately, if you want to see a 2-1 win over Dinamo Minsk, you just have to go back to match day one as that’s what Hearts did! Steven Alfred giving the hosts the lead midway through there first half, but a Sergey Politevich own goal levelled it before half time and Yan Dhanda got the winner with the last touch of the game.

On match day two, Hearts won 2-0 at home against Omonia Nicosia. Alan Forrest and Blair Spittal with the first half goals.

But that good start has faded a bit since. On match day three, Hearts lost 2-0 at home to FC Heidenheim. Sirlord Conteh and Jan Schoppner with the second half goals.

And then on match day four, Hearts lost 2-0 away to Cercle Brugge, a team that also beat Kilmarnock earlier this season. Malamine Efkele towards the end of the first half, and Gary Magnee at the end of the second half, after Lawrence Shankland had missed a penalty a few minutes earlier.

That has Hearts seventeenth in the table, just outside the seeded knockout round places on goal difference, three points behind the automatic last sixteen places, two points ahead of the elimination places and a point ahead of tonight’s opponents.

As you might have noticed, for the second game running, Hearts are playing an opponent that are here having beaten Kilmarnock previously! Copenhagen qualified for this group stage after their 1-1 draw at Rugby Park was sufficient thanks to the 2-0 win at home in the first leg.

Of course, as I mentioned in the blog back in August, Copenhagen have faced Scottish opposition before. Their first meeting saw them lose 1-0 at Celtic Park in the 2006/07 Champions League group stages. But the game in Denmark, albeit a dead rubber as Celtic had qualified for the last sixteen by the final game, saw Copenhagen win 3-1.

Honestly, Celtic did score, but Copenhagen left it off this video! Jiri Jarosik scored it, I was there, I remember!

Copenhagen also lost 4-0 away to Aberdeen in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage. It wasn’t in Denmark, but if you think I’m leaving this video out after they left Jarosik out of theirs, you’ve another thing coming!

Prior to Kilmarnock, their last meeting with a Scottish side was Celtic in the 2019/20 Europa League round of 32. Despite the 1-1 draw in Denmark in the first leg, Copenhagen won 3-1 at Celtic Park to progress to the last sixteen. But here’s the draw in Denmark.

This is the first time that Hearts have faced Danish opposition in European competition, so nothing to look back on there!

Copenhagen are top of the Danish Superligen, ahead of Midtjylland on goal difference after seventeen games. On Saturday they won 3-1 away to Kolding IF in the quarter final of the Danish Cup. They host Kolding this coming Sunday in the second leg.

Hearts are second bottom of the Premiership after sixteen games, a point behind St Johnstone and Kilmarnock and a point ahead of Hibernian. On Saturday they beat Dundee 2-0 at home. Next up is a trip to Kilmarnock on Sunday.

It doesn’t seem fair that Celtic get two blogs this week and then there’s one blog between Hearts and Rangers who both play today, so I’ve split them up. It means the blogs aren’t twice as long as well. So just in case there’s anyone wondering where the Rangers part is – it’ll be out soon after this!

In the mean time, good luck to Hearts!