Forrest leads Hearts to important Conference League win against Omonia
Hearts signalled their intent within the opening 15 seconds as Blair Spittal sent a shot over the bar, and their early dominance was rewarded in the 16th minute when another Spittal effort was blocked and fell to Alan Forrest, who powered the ball past Omonia goalkeeper Fabiano at his near post and into the roof of the net.
Hearts, who put four past St Mirren at the weekend, were in the mood for more goals and after a throw-in routine found the impressive Spittal, he made no mistake in emulating Forrest and firing the ball high into the goal with a clean strike.
The unstoppable Spittal went on a mazy run and curled an effort from the edge of the box soon after the 30-minute mark, with the Shamrocks looking a shadow of the side that beat Víkingur Reykjavik 4-0 on matchday one.
A free header from a corner sent wide by Filip Helander shortly before HT was the only chance of note for the visitors, as Hearts stayed in control until the break.
Looking to preserve their unbeaten start in the league phase, Omonia had the lion’s share of possession early in the second half, but another wayward Helander header from a good position was the best they had to show for their efforts, before Andronikos Kakoullis and Loizos Loizou struggled to test Craig Gordon with their efforts.
With 10 minutes remaining, Hearts thought they had put the game to bed when James Penrice found the target, only for the goal to be ruled out for an offside in the build-up against Lawrence Shankland.
However, Hearts had done enough to go back-to-back under Critchley, and in the Conference League ahead of the Edinburgh derby at the weekend. Meanwhile, Valdas Dambrauskas’ men continue to struggle , as they slip to a third consecutive defeat.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Blair Spittal (Heart of Midlothian)
