Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot and set up Franculino as Trabzonspor beat injury-hit Hearts 2-0 at Papara Park in the UEFA Conference League, making it two wins from two in the league phase for the Turkish side.
Hearts arrived in Trabzon already depleted and on the back of a 7-1 hammering at Celtic on Sunday, and their night got harder before a ball was kicked. Even so, for half an hour they frustrated the hosts — until Salah took the game away from them in the space of two decisive moments either side of the break, as PA reported from Papara Park.
Salah answers the noise in style
The Egyptian had been targeted by travelling supporters before kick-off, and his response was emphatic. After Trabzonspor had two penalty appeals turned away — one following a close offside call in the build-up — Franculino was brought down by Tomas Magnusson and the referee finally pointed to the spot. Salah stepped up on 32 minutes and calmly sent the ball down the middle, beating goalkeeper Beau Reus.
His second contribution was even better. Just before the hour, Franculino exchanged a neat one-two with Salah and curled an excellent finish into the far corner to double the lead. It continues a remarkable run for the 34-year-old, who now has nine goals in just 11 appearances since joining Trabzonspor, and who also scored in Monday's 2-0 league win over Besiktas, as Liverpool.com noted in charting his resurgence since leaving Anfield.
Injury-hit Hearts made to suffer again
The scale of Hearts' task was set before kick-off, when it emerged that left-back Harry Milne had suffered suspected anterior cruciate ligament damage while training at Papara Park on the eve of the match. With Milne out, Ugandan winger Rogers Mato was deployed as an auxiliary left-back and handed the formidable job of marking Salah.
To their credit, the makeshift Jambos started brightly. Christian Borchgrevink's long-range effort forced back-pedalling goalkeeper Andre Onana to tip the ball over, and from the resulting corner Malachi Fagan-Walcott's free header from inside the six-yard box came back off the post. Claudio Braga then glanced a header into Onana's arms.
But the injuries kept coming. Borchgrevink was forced off late in the first half, replaced by Stephen Kingsley, and once Salah had broken the deadlock Hearts never truly recovered. Trabzonspor finished with ten men — Sidny Lopes Cabral was sent off in stoppage time for a second bookable offence — but by then the points were long since safe.
So what does it mean?
Trabzonspor sit on maximum points after two games and look every inch a side built to go deep in this competition, with Salah, goalkeeper Onana and summer signing Franculino giving them star quality few Conference League teams can match. Their fellow African stars are shining across this competition too — Cyriel Dessers struck twice for Panathinaikos on Thursday night.
For Hearts, the picture is bleaker. One point from two matches leaves Wouter Vrancken's side needing a result away to Swiss champions Thun in a fortnight, and the immediate priority is domestic: Motherwell visit on Sunday with a squad stretched to breaking point and two more full-backs now on the treatment table. The spirit in Trabzon was admirable; the injury list is becoming the story of their season.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Salah did not leave Liverpool to wind down — he left to be the main man somewhere new, and nights like this prove the point. A penalty dispatched with contempt and an assist of real class, against a side that came to frustrate him, is exactly what a talisman is for. Trabzonspor have bought themselves a genuine European match-winner; the rest of the Conference League should be worried. Is Salah now the favourite to finish as this competition's top scorer?
