Neil Critchley lauds 'deserved' Hearts win over Omonia as boss praises 'really strong' Conference League chances
Hearts boss Neil Critchley has continued his perfect start to life as Hearts manager with a 2-0 win over Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia at Tynecastle in the Europa Conference League on Thursday evening - and he insisted he loved every minute after making it two from two in the Gorgie dugout.
Two fantastic finishes from Alan Forrest and Blair Spittal inside half an hour put the Jambos on the front foot from the word go, and despite being happy to concede possession to Neil Lennon’s former side, they cruised from there - with a further strike from Jorge Grant being ruled out for offside ten minutes from the end.
It’s been the perfect start for the former Liverpool coach, having beaten St Mirren 4-0 over the weekend - and having gone joint-top of the Conference League table for the time being, the Englishman couldn't hide his delight at his stars for their performance in the capital.
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Speaking after the game, Critchley lauded the fact that his players were excellent with and without the ball, before stating that his side are in a 'really strong position' to go further into the Conference League picture. He said:
"It was a great evening. I loved it. Fantastic night. From start to finish, I thought we had a fantastic first half. Started with real intent. Our aggression without the ball was excellent. I thought we played some fantastic football as well, causing a lot of problems and deservedly won the game.
"Second half, without the ball, looked relatively comfortable for most of it. I would have liked to have seen us keep the ball again better. But again, clean sheet, two fantastic goals and a really good all-round team performance.
"It puts us in a really strong position. Six from six, four games to go. I'm not sure when our next European game is now because we've got loads of games coming up. But yes, six from six, couldn't have asked for any more.
"Clean sheet tonight, I think that was really important. The odd little half-chance around the goal. I know they hit the post, but it was offside. Other than that Craig [Gordon] had quite a comfortable evening and that's how we defended as a team, not just the back players, that was everyone. "