Hearts are left rueing The One as Bundesliga cracks let off hook and milestone moment soured

A kiosk, a reminder of their amateur days, has been incorporated into their modern home stadium and Heidenheim served up something that left Hearts sick to the stomach here.

A majestic flashing header, just after the hour mark, from Sirlord Conteh put the Germans on the way to a victory that was confirmed by another header, this time from substitute Jan Schoppner, with two minutes left.

Hearts, meanwhile, rued more profligacy. This defeat might not seriously hamper their Conference League ambitions – they have another three games to secure the three points that should see them still involved past Christmas – but continuing spurning chances will certainly thwart their hopes of pulling away from the bottom of the Premiership, with some tough games now coming up.

This was another match where we were minded to ask: what have they done with the old Lawrence Shankland? The Hearts skipper looked in the mood early on but that did not translate into goals. Not for him, nor anyone else.

Hearts' Lawrence Shankland has the ball cleared from under his nose by Heidenheim keeper Kevin Muller. | SNS Group

He had glorious chances at both ends – and missed them both. The second of these, with nine minutes left, saw flick the ball over the bar when the old Shankland would have just steered James Penrice’s whipped-in cross into the net. To be fair to him, he was having to stretch.

The earlier opportunity, after just three minutes, was The One. It might well have altered the course of the evening had he taken it, and Shankland knows better than anyone that he should have done.

All the usual mitigations were quickly called to mind. No one likes to see a striker struggle like this. Did the chance come too early in the game? Possibly. Did the goalkeeper do well to quickly narrow the angle? Undoubtedly.

But he knows, and we know, that he ought to have drawn himself level with John Robertson in the club’s European scoring annals with seven goals. Perhaps that was something else weighing on his mind.

Whatever the reasons for his touch deserting him not just here, but this whole season to date almost, Hearts lamented this failure to post a dream start. The early drama did help rouse the fans, with Penrice showing what could be achieved by hustling defenders into a mistake. The full-back then prodded the ball to Shankland, who saw his effort saved.

The striker stuck at it, and saw another shot, from a tighter angle this time, saved at the near post by the German side’s skipper Kevin Muller.

Other chances too went a-begging as Hearts tore at the visitors with a rare intensity. The fans were on-side and the energy flowed into the players, with 1000 travelling supporters adding to the intoxicating mix. Frankie Kent somehow put a header wide at the far post from a Spittal corner.

Where were the Germans? Who cares, might have been the Hearts fans’ response - to slightly misquote a line of commentary by Barry Davies from the Seoul Olympics. The visitors did though come into things but not before Blair Spittal saw a shot deflected wide after he drove towards goal in threatening fashion.

Heidenheim might be struggling in the league but they surely couldn’t surely go an entire half without creating a chance. They didn’t. Lennard Maloney looped a header towards goal over the stranded Craig Gordon but Malachi Boeteng made a heroic hooked clearance.

As they became the first Bundesliga side to play a competitive fixture at Tynecastle in nearly a quarter of a century, it was interesting to note that Heidenheim did not have a significant amount to live up to. Four Germans teams have played here in European competition, with just one, SV Hamburg, emerging victorious.

Hearts' players look on as Heidenheim celebrate the opener. | SNS Group

It’s an obscure detail but one that might appeal; Horst Blankenburg, who is generally acclaimed to be the greatest player never to have been capped by Germany, played for Hamburg in that 4-1 victory in Gorgie. He started his career for Heidenheim before going on to win three European Cups with Ajax. A libero, his misfortune was to be around at the same time as Franz Beckenbauer.

Still, three European Cups and then a Cup Winners’-Cup with Hamburg is nothing to grumble about. Nor is a win at Tynecastle. Heidenheim have emulated this achievement, nearly 50 years on. Their fans celebrated wildly at the end.

Frank Schmidt’s team had turned the screw in the second half and looked to have upped the ante even before Conteh flicked a delicious header past Craig Gordon to sour the ‘keeper’s 300th appearance, with substitute Mathias Honsak providing the cross.

They then brought on Paul Wanner, an 18-year-old wunderkind on loan from Bayern Munich. That said it all. The only surprise was that he was not one of the two substitutes who combined near the end to score Heidenheim’s decisive second, with Omar Traore crossing from the right for Schoppner to head powerfully home.