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Dinamo Zagreb 4-0 Heart Of Midlothian: Hosts Rule In Croatia
The Jam Tarts were embarrassed tonight as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 4-0 thumping in Zagreb.
Aug 20, 2009 5:09:04 PM
Things got underway quickly in Croatia tonight as Hearts looked to get in and around hosts Dinamo Zagreb for the first leg of their Europa League tie.
Play was quickly broken up by Dinamo as the Jambos rushed forward in search of an early goal, resulting in the visitors backing off and inviting their opponents to come forward.
The Modri soon capitalized on the invitation, Mario Mandzukic scoring after just five minutes as a result of just one of the zippy runs of Jorge Sammir was producing down the right flank.
Zagreb continued to test Hearts 'keeper Marian Kello as they ran riot all over the pitch, Csaba Laszlo's side struggling to get a foot in the game.
Ismael Bouzid's temper got the better of him after 35 minutes, as the Algerian proceeded to bring down Dimitrios Papadopoulos in a dangerous area.
Pedro Morales stood over the ball and struck straight for goal, but his effort bounced back and landed at the feet of the very player who had been fouled.
Papadopoulos made no mistake in bringing to scoreline to 2-0 after his blasted low shot went low and hard into the bottom right hand corner of Kello's goal.
Laszlo opted to bring on Ian Black in place of Bouzid after the break in an attempt to calm down the speedy central play that Dinamo were creating.
The change looked to be paying off for a short time, but Zagreb soon got themselves back in the game in a big way.
The Arsenal-like passing produced by the hosts tore the Hearts defence up, leaving space for Ivica Vrdoljak to curl a beautiful ball from the edge of the box around Kello and into the net, bringing the scoreline to 3-0.
Just five minutes later the Croats struck again, this time Igor Biscan causing the damage with a close range header after a textbook assist from Pedro Morales.
Zagreb continued to swarm around their opponents box for the remainder of the second half, playing with such comfort that it almost looked like showboating. The hosts could have embarrassed the Jambos further, and it looked like they should have.
Csaba Laszlo was all too happy to hear the final whistle, having lost so badly to such an impressive Croatian side.
The Romanian-born boss now faces the unenviable task of deciding who to axe from his poorly performing team ahead of their next game against Rangers in the SPL, and, of course, the return leg against Dinamo.
Stephen Crawford, Goal.com
Discuss all the latest in the Goal.com Forums.
Play was quickly broken up by Dinamo as the Jambos rushed forward in search of an early goal, resulting in the visitors backing off and inviting their opponents to come forward.
The Modri soon capitalized on the invitation, Mario Mandzukic scoring after just five minutes as a result of just one of the zippy runs of Jorge Sammir was producing down the right flank.
Zagreb continued to test Hearts 'keeper Marian Kello as they ran riot all over the pitch, Csaba Laszlo's side struggling to get a foot in the game.
Ismael Bouzid's temper got the better of him after 35 minutes, as the Algerian proceeded to bring down Dimitrios Papadopoulos in a dangerous area.
Pedro Morales stood over the ball and struck straight for goal, but his effort bounced back and landed at the feet of the very player who had been fouled.
Papadopoulos made no mistake in bringing to scoreline to 2-0 after his blasted low shot went low and hard into the bottom right hand corner of Kello's goal.
Laszlo opted to bring on Ian Black in place of Bouzid after the break in an attempt to calm down the speedy central play that Dinamo were creating.
The change looked to be paying off for a short time, but Zagreb soon got themselves back in the game in a big way.
The Arsenal-like passing produced by the hosts tore the Hearts defence up, leaving space for Ivica Vrdoljak to curl a beautiful ball from the edge of the box around Kello and into the net, bringing the scoreline to 3-0.
Just five minutes later the Croats struck again, this time Igor Biscan causing the damage with a close range header after a textbook assist from Pedro Morales.
Zagreb continued to swarm around their opponents box for the remainder of the second half, playing with such comfort that it almost looked like showboating. The hosts could have embarrassed the Jambos further, and it looked like they should have.
Csaba Laszlo was all too happy to hear the final whistle, having lost so badly to such an impressive Croatian side.
The Romanian-born boss now faces the unenviable task of deciding who to axe from his poorly performing team ahead of their next game against Rangers in the SPL, and, of course, the return leg against Dinamo.
Stephen Crawford, Goal.com
Discuss all the latest in the Goal.com Forums.
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