Hearts duo stand out as win makes Conference League knockouts near

The early kick-off didn't dull any sense of anticipation or atmosphere as Neil Crithcley's men went after their Cypriot opponents from the first whistle.

By the 24th minute, the scoreboard read: Hearts 2 - 0 Omonia. Alan Forrest got the scoring started with a fierce shot at the back post. Blair Spittal doubled the lead when he brilliantly swept in a shot from around 15 yards.

The second half was more about containment. Hearts had done a great job in the first half and after the interval it was about making sure they didn't undo their great work. Which they did.

Now it is onto the derby but fans can enjoy their night in Gorgie.

Joel Sked and Craig Cairns look back at all the action:

Almost there

It is crazy to think that Hearts, following their worst start to a season ever, are almost into the knockout stage of the Conference League and have added €800,000 in prize money. Fans should certainly start thinking about putting a couple of February dates in as holidays. The knockout phase play-offs take place on February 13 and 20. It was a brilliant night in EH11 and continues Neil Critchley's brilliant start to life as Hearts boss. Hearts knew this was a huge week for the club, even discounting the arrival of a new head coach. So far so good. Really, really good. The attitude and application of the players has been second to none in terms of what has been asked of them. It has resonated with the club's support. On Saturday Blair Spittal generated a big applause for his pressing. There was a similar moment with Kenneth Vargas in the corner between the Gorgie and Wheatfield Stands early on. The fans are enjoying what they are seeing. They will hope it continues on Sunday and there is a very good chance that the team, club and support will now get another European tie after Christmas. Exciting times in Gorgie.

A change of shape

Even though there were changes to the starting XI, the general consensus was that Hearts would reprise the 4-4-2 that worked so well against St Mirren. There were changes at both full-back positions but the back four remained as Neil Critchley opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation. That meant Kenneth Vargas starting wide right, with Forrest – one of four changes – on the left. As the first half developed, the Costa Rican international would play narrow at times, close to Lawrence Shanlkland. That allowed Adam Forrester to make bursting runs down the right, including for Forrest’s opening goal which he slammed in from a narrow angle at the back post.

Hearts had chances to double their lead before Spittal eventually did. Shankland forced an excellent save out of Omonia keeper Fabiano and Frankie Kent really should have scored with a header. A few minutes later, it was two. Again the move originated down the right, Shankland linked with Vargas and the ball broke to Spittal who curled in a beautiful effort for the third game in a row.

Another clean sheet

Omonia were trying to slow the game down before they fell behind and failed to trouble Hearts when they did. The visitors did threaten twice towards the end of the opening 45 minutes, both from headers from former Rangers defender Filip Helander headed over. The Jam Tarts picked up from where they left off on Saturday, pressing Omonia into making mistakes. The Cypriots were confident to take possession deep inside their own half but the execution wasn’t always there.

On many occasions they were forced into errors, sparking some of the loudest cheers of the night. At the back, Kye Rowles was fantastic again. Omonia had a lot more territory in the second half but for the second consecutive game there was very little for Craig Gordon to do. Critchley made a double change just after the hour, bringing on Daniel Oyegoke and Jorge Grant in order to regain some control. There was a late scare when Omonia substitute Alioum Saidou clipped the post but the far side assistant raised his flag for offside.

Two standouts

You could pick out any number of players wearing all maroon. However, Blair Spittal and Malachi Boateng were the clear standouts. Take the latter first. He was a midfield general. All his actions are clean. He picked up on second balls, he won tackles, he blocked and he intercepted. He recycled possession, picking the right passes and not trying to force the issues. What he does is simple but to quote Critchley on his unveiling, "simplicity is genius". Then there is Spittal. What a transformation from the opening couple of months of his Hearts career. He played with a verve, dominating the first half as he drove forward with the ball and set the tempo with his control in possession, linking play. Everything appeared to go through him. Take the goal out of it and it was a fine midfield performance. The goal just topped it off. It was a fantastic strike with lovely technique. He is slowly becoming the Hearts talisman.

Forrester comes of age

Adam Forrester now has five appearances as a first-team player at Tynecastle Park. This appearance was his finest. The 19-year-old was effervescent up and down the right-hand side. He wasn't up against some schmuck. He was up against arguably Omonia's most dangerous player in Willy Semedo. Yet, he was excellent in and out of possession. With the ball he was positive, his first touch was always forward and he looked to gallop into the space in front of him, providing the team with width on the right. Defensively, he stuck to his guns really well. The biggest credit you can give him is that for large periods it was such a mature performance, weighing up when to see his opponent down the line and when to engage. There was only one misstep when he deliberated in possession, had his pocket picked and gave away a foul. But over the pieces, before being replaced just after the hour mark, it was a hugely encouraging performance and one he should be very proud of.

Squad game

"To play the way that we want to play, energy, intensity, then you have to manage the squad," Critchley said in the build up. That meant four changes ahead of the derby. Not only did Forrester step up but Cammy Devlin, Stephen Kingsley and Alan Forrest all contributed to a fine evening. The quality of the performance didn't drop. In fact, they stepped up and demonstrated exactly what Critchley wanted.