Now the Jambos must re-group ahead of Sunday’s visit of in-form Falkirk to Tynecastle, but an injury to Stephen Kingsley increases the woe for the Gorgie men.

Earlier, Wouter Vrancken, Hearts’ head coach, indicated that the Thun pitch, which is artificial, was “among the worst he has seen”, but the 2,500 fans who made the trip to Switzerland were making lots of pre-match noise in the stadium of the Swiss champions who lost a number of key players before the start of the season.

Stephen Kingsley (pictured) was played out of position at right-back as Hearts were looking to pick up valuable points against a much-changed side from last season who are currently ninth in the Swiss Super League.

So the question was, can injury-plagued Hearts shake off adversity and record a victory on the road in this UEFA Conference League clash?

The game kicked-off but was then delayed after pyrotechnics were set off in the home end which made the pitch unplayable and Hearts players were thrown balls in a bid to keep them warm.

The delay lasted around eight minutes as the smoke cleared and Vrancken sat in his dugout non-plussed about the break in play.

Kingsley re-started the game with a throw-in and McPake produced the first effort on goal. The former St Johnstone player just did not get enough on the ball.

At the other end, Reus was called into action as FC Thun took the game to the Jambos, and, not surprisingly, they appeared to be far more comfortable on the surface than the Capital club.

Fagan-Walcott was forced to concede a foul on the edge of the box and the free-kick flew inches wide of the goal, a let-off for the visitors who were seeking their first points in the Conference League.

But McPake found space at the other end and tested the Thun defence after the Scotland squad player left defenders in his wake, but Hearts gifted the Swiss the opener when under-pressure McCart netted an own goal. Time 21 minutes.

The Tynecastle team refused to let their heads drop and McPake threatened again, but a Thun counter, following a Hearts’ free-kick, pierced the Scottish side’s defence and a blunder from Kingsley allowed the home side to celebrate again, Labeau counting. Time 34 minutes.

The Men in Maroon now had a mountain to climb, but Kerjota was fouled on the edge of the Thun box, it looked soft, and Kerjota flashed the ball wide before the offside flag went up against Braga who was starved of decent service.

However, Guendouz manufactured a chance, but saw his effort flew just wide in first-half injury time but the whistle to end the first session arrived with the Swiss side 2-0 ahead and Hearts chasing the game.

The Swiss champions kicked-off the second period but they wasted at least one opportunity. Kabore was made ready to replace Guendouz as Hearts struggled to make an impact, but Kabore and Braga combined to threaten. Penalty claims were waved aside.

Thun were a threat and Reus got his finger tip to a shot over, the goalkeeper keeping the Scots in this contest, but the big Dutchman could not prevent Thun netting again after 56 minutes. VAR was called in to adjudicate but the goal was given. Dursun was the man who had the final touch with Reichmuth providing the ammunition in the Visana Stadion.

Some Hearts fans were not amused with what they were witnessing as Thun carved the visitors open again. This time Maier failed to count.

The nightmare continued for Hearts as Kingsley went down with what appeared to be a hamstring problem. He limped off and youngster Gillies made his senior debut after being out on loan to several clubs including Stenhousemuir.

He was introduced as a holding midfield player and Altena moved to defence. They then forced a corner after a brilliant save from the Swiss goalkeeper.  

Thun introduced men from the bench, possibly with their Sunday fixture at home to Basel in mind, and Hearts continued to look for a counter, bringing on JJ Williams and James Wilson with 15 minutes remaining.

McPake and Kerjota were hooked in favour of the two central strikers, but Thun added a fourth when athletic Reus tipped an effort onto the bar and Bamert hammered home a re-bound. However, he was offside.

Hearts kept trying and Altena’s free-kick was flighted into the danger area and Findlay found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 3-1, his first goal of the season. Time 82 minutes.

Braga then forced a corner which came to nothing.

Three minutes of injury time were indicated but the scoreline remained the same.

Hearts: Reus, Kingsley, McCart, Braga, McPake, Findlay, Guendouz, Altena, Kerjota, Fagan-Walcott, Mendy. Substitutes: Clark, Fulton, Williams, Kabore, Wilson, Pollock, Stevenson, Gillies.