Frankie McAvoy insists he saw enough from his Hearts side in their 2-1 defeat at home to PAOK in the Europa Conference League play-off to suggest they can win the return leg in Greece to progress to the group stage of the competition for the second season running.
A Lawrence Shankland penalty gave the capital club an early lead in Gorgie but their opponents levelled almost instantly through a spot-kick of their own before Andrija Zivkovic’s long-range second-half stunner sealed the win for the visitors.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game and a tight affair,” said the Hearts head coach. “It was disappointing that we score then they get a penalty so early after.
“Then we score with Shanks and it’s elation, then it’s a sour note when it’s chopped off. Then they score from a corner.
“As for emotions, it’s disappointment with the result but in spells I felt our shape without the ball was really good. They try to hit on the counter and there were some pleasing moments.
READ MORE: Hearts 1 PAOK 2: Gallant hosts fall just short in play-off first leg
“We know what we’ve got to do now - we’ve got to win the game and I believe that’s possible.
“I thought when we got into good areas we caused problems. First half their keeper made a fantastic save from Shanks and Boycey [Liam Boyce] so we know we’re creating chances. Our wide players could cause them issues.
“We've got a good squad. We’ll deal with Dundee as best we can then focus on Greece. We've come a long way since we’ve come in and the players have great belief in themselves. That's important going forwards and we’ll have that at the forefront of our minds.”
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