Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot and assisted Franculino Dju as Trabzonspor defeated Hearts 2-0 in the Conference League, leaving the Scottish side still searching for their first victory in the competition.
Salah broke the deadlock in the first half before combining with Dju for the Turkish side’s second goal shortly before the hour mark.
Trabzonspor’s breakthrough came after the visitors had seen two penalty appeals rejected. They eventually won a spot-kick when Dju was brought down by Tomas Magnusson, allowing Salah to send his effort past goalkeeper Beau Reus.
Dju then doubled the lead by exchanging passes with Salah before curling the ball into the far corner, giving Hearts a difficult deficit to overcome.
The result extended Hearts’ difficult run following their 7-1 defeat to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. Their preparations were further disrupted by injuries, with Harry Milne ruled out after picking up a problem in training and Christian Borchgrevink forced off shortly before half-time. Rogers Mato was deployed at left-back in Milne’s absence.
Hearts threatened early when Malachi Fagan-Walcott headed against the post, but struggled to convert their opportunities into goals as Trabzonspor took control.
Josh McPake later fired narrowly wide as Hearts looked for a response. Trabzonspor also finished with 10 men after Sidny Lopes Cabral received a second yellow card for a late challenge on Sabah Kerjota.
Despite the late dismissal, Trabzonspor held on to secure the win, with Salah’s goal and assist proving decisive.
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