Hearts are out of the Europa Conference League after Fiorentina put Istanbul Basaksehir to the sword in Florence.
The Jambos face RFS of Latvia at Tynecastle tonight but were left hinging on the Turkish side at least holding or beating their Serie A hosts to keep Hearts hopes of knockout football alive. It started out so well when Danijel Aleksic notched the opener but soon La Viola took control of proceedings.
Former Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic pounced twice to make sure that his side go top and level on 10 points with Istanbul, who host Robbie Neilson's men on Group A's sixth and final matchday. It has been a learning experience for Hearts after dropping into UEFA's third tier competition following a Europa League play-off loss against Swiss side FC Zurich, losing heavily against both of these sides. But they did also manage to secure an impressive 2-0 win on the road at RFS.
READ MORE: Stephen Humphrys Hearts injury latest as Robbie Neilson gives update on squad ahead of RFS clash
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Their home meeting with the Latvians is now effectively a dead-rubber for both while a maroon trip to Turkey now has less significance, as they are currently on three points in third.
Attentions will turn to get back onto this stage next season, group stage football obtained by romping to third in last season's Premiership.
Ahead of taking on basement club Ross County on Sunday, they sit seventh with four domestic games to go before November's World Cup break.
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