Football: Hearts show determination

HEARTS' hopes of reaching the second round of the Uefa Cup were lifted by their determined display at Slavia Prague last night, the Edinburgh club losing the away leg by a solitary goal. Hearts held out for 85 minutes before Vladimir Tatarcuk surprised their defence to score.

In the European Cup, Marseille fielded 10 full internationals against Glentoran at the Belfast Oval - and it showed. With Abedi Pele (Ghana) causing havoc in Glentoran's defence, the French champions won 5-0, with goals from Rudi Voller (Germany), Rafael Martin Vasquez (Spain), who scored twice, Frank Sauzee and Jean-Marc Ferreri (both France).

Milan, returning to European competition after the ban imposed for their 1990 walk-out at Marseille, made up for lost time, beating Slovenia's Olimpia Ljubljana 4-0. Marco van Basten - who else? - scored twice, his second set up by an impressive Ruud Gullit. The loss of his dreadlocks does not seem to have sapped Gullit's strength: he made Milan's fourth, struck by Jean-Pierre Papin - the former Marseille forward's first competitive goal for the Rossoneri.

Johan Cruyff, the Barcelona coach, kept Ronald Koeman and Hristo Stoichkov on the bench, a defensive tactic that nearly backfired against Viking Stavanger at a sparsely attended Nou Camp. The Norwegians defended in depth, restricting the holders to only one goal four minutes from time - Guillermo Amor's 12-yard header.

In the Cup-Winners' Cup, Cardiff went behind to Admira Wacker just before half-time at Ninian Park but notched a deserved equaliser in the 59th minute when Chris Pike headed home Damon Searle's free-kick.

In Dublin, Paul Whelan, brother of Liverpool's Ronnie Whelan, nearly caused the upset of the night, in Bohemians' creditable stalemate with Steaua Bucharest. Whelan came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 62nd minute when his close-range shot was stopped on the line.

In the Uefa Cup, David Platt's side, Juventus, prospered on their return to European competition. Gianluca Vialli, Andreas Moller and Roberto Baggio were among the goals in Juve's 6-1 success over Famagusta, of Cyprus.

Bobby Robson is settling in well at Sporting Lisbon, his new charges winning 2-1 at Grasshoppers Zurich. Derry City struggled against the Dutch side, Vitesse Arnhem, losing 3-0 away from home.

Seville, anxious to compete with Europe's superpowers, have offered Napoli pounds 2.1m for Diego Maradona. Napoli, in Valencia for last night's Uefa Cup tie, were unimpressed by Seville's timing. An Italian official called it 'a clear provocation and a major distraction for our squad'. The players were not too distracted: they won 5-1. Maybe they do not need their most famous South American - Daniel Fonseca, Napoli's new Uruguayan forward, hit all five. Ciao Diego?