Hearts: Paolo Sergio uses his licence to thrill

Sergio's managerial debut in Scotland produced a swashbuckling display and convincing victory over Paksi, with two goals from Ryan Stevenson and one apiece from Andy Driver and Rudi Skacel. Consequently, Hearts became the first SPL club to progress in Europe this season after Rangers and Dundee United suffered defeats which could harm Scotland's co-efficient.

Even allowing for the fact the Hungarians looked average at best, initial signs are that Sergio's Hearts team will be characterised by attacking football. The Portuguese stressed yesterday that he wouldn't change much for this match following Jim Jefferies' departure, but his impact was considerable. The biggest alteration was the ball being stroked around patiently on the ground and zipped forward whenever space opened up.

That helped Hearts drag Paksi out of shape and Stevenson's double secured them a 2-0 interval advantage. Driver's right-footer and Skacel's tap-in during the second half completed the rout before Daniel Bode headed a token strike for the deflated Hungarians.

"We played a very good game," said Sergio. "Now it seems like Paksi is a terrible team but I don't think they are as bad as that. I think the second goal just at the end of the first half was very important for us. There are some things I did not like but, with time and hard work, I'm sure we are going to improve that.

"I was nervous more than usual before the game. I am a very calm guy. But you can imagine, you don't know your players as well as you wish. You are a little bit anxious, but generally they gave a very good answer and I am happy with them.

"I have been talking with the players. In three days we only made strategic changes, I think you could observe that in the game. We went higher up the pitch to not let the other team play. They have a team that likes the ball, good technique and good passes, so we didn't want them to have the ball. That was the strategic change from what they used to do. It made our players run a lot and I think, in the last 15 or 20 minutes, they didn't have the legs for what we are doing.We are going to practice every day to improve that.

"There were some positional mistakes that we shouldn't make. And at the end of the game we should touch the ball, make passes and look for space to score one more goal. Let's respect our opponents. Just keeping the ball, I don't like. Up front we stopped making the good moves and we had chances to score one more goal. I'm very p***ed off with the goal we had against us. Kello doesn't deserve that, neither do the people. We weren't active in that moment."

Sergio is clearly not frightened to make demands of his squad. But he also seems willing to administer praise when merited. "I don't like to speak about one player, it's always the team who wins or loses the game," he continued. "If I have to mention one player, I have to talk about Adrian Mrowiec. Before the game he had a fever of 38 degrees but he sacrificed himself for the team. That's the guys I love. That's the kind of guy we need to be successful."

Karoly Kis, the Paksi coach, conceded that his team were second best as their first ever European campaign came to an end in Edinburgh. "There was a lot of fighting one against one and we didn't win enough of these situations," said the Hungarian. "There were some periods when we had big chances but we made wrong decisions. I said before the match that, if we were to have a chance, every player must give 100 per cent. I am very happy with my players because this is very big progress for us, but some players were not 100 per cent tonight and we did not have enough chances against the Scottish team.

"I wish Hearts to play in the Europa League group stage but first there is the draw for the play-off. I give congratulations to both trainers of Hearts. The first one did a good job. This is a strong team with strong players and creative players. The current trainer won the match and he also did a good job."

As expected, Hearts started vigorously at a tempo which indicated their desire to overpower their guests. Ian Black's tenth-minute free-kick was volleyed narrowly wide by Stevenson, deployed alongside Stephen Elliott in Sergio's 4-4-2 formation. However the forward line changed moments later when Elliott, injured in a collision with the Paksi captain Eger Laszlo, had to be replaced by John Sutton.

The hosts were monopolising possession without managing to get in behind the Paksi rearguard. The visitors were content playing on the counter-attack and waited until the 29th minute until a chance presented itself. Mrowiec inexplicably attempted a passback as the ball headed out of play on the halfway line, and Tamas Kiss intercepted. He advanced to tee up Bartha Laszlo but the winger was tackled by Marius Zaliukas and then cautioned for diving as the challenge arrived.

Eleven minutes from half-time, Hearts turned their superiority into a deserved advantage.Danny Grainger hung a corner on the six-yard line and Stevenson rose for a downward header which somehow slithered through the palms of Norbert Csernynszky to hit the net. The goalkeeper was culpable but Stevenson rightly sprinted off, claiming his first European goal. He wasn't finished, either.

On the stroke of the interval, Hearts moved 2-0 ahead. Kello's deep kickout was partially headed clear by Eger Laszlo and Sutton collected the ball. As he ambled forward, Stevenson initially got in his way before peeling away to the left. Sutton slipped him a weighted pass and from an acute angle he drove the ball home.

Five minutes into the second period it was game over as Hearts struck their third. Stevenson was the instigator on this occasion, supplying Sutton for a lay-off which Driver drove home off the underside of the Paksi crossbar. In the technical area, Sergio spun with clenched fists and released a yell of delight. He knew the job was done.

Skacel, who earlier in the day agreed to extend his Hearts contract until January, entered the fray for a fatigued Driver after 63 minutes. That coincided with a drop in the tempo of the match as Paksi began pressing forward. Bode's header was pushed onto the crossbar by the hitherto inactive Marian Kello, and the goalkeeper denied the same player from a one-on-one situation minutes later.

If the hosts had become slightly complacent at that juncture, they atoned by upping the pace and scoring again. David Templeton dispatched a ferocious drive from 25 yards which Csernynszky could only parry into Skacel's path. The Czech doesn't miss from five yards, especially with the goalkeeper already grounded.

Hearts might have won a penalty 12 minutes from time when Ryan McGowan fell under Tamas Bl's challenge. As it was, four goals were satisfying enough for Sergio as his tenure at Tynecastle began in thoroughly convincing fashion. Bode headed a consolation goal from Tibor Heffler's late free-kick, but that couldn't dampen Tynecastle's feel-good factor. There were even chants of "Paulo, Paulo Sergio" from the stands to round off a perfect evening for the Portuguese.

"It was very nice, I'm not used to that," he said. "That's not the kind of thing Portuguese supporters used to do. I appreciate it a lot and I say thank you to everybody. We are in the same boat. I hope I'm with them and I hope they are with us."