Peter Haring explains what Hearts need and why he understands Beni Baningime's predicament

Momentum is one of football’s most valuable commodities. Finding the rhythm to win game after game is what everyone craves. So far this season, Hearts are still striving to build up that head of steam. They remain a work in progress and midfielder Peter Haring knows the value of thrusting forward.

He influenced the second half of Thursday’s Europa Conference League qualifying tie against Rosenborg as a substitute and will be equally important against Kilmarnock at Tynecastle. After beating St Johnstone in the opening Premiership match last weekend before losing 2-1 in Trondheim, Haring is clear on Hearts’ ambitions for the rest of the month.

“The ideal scenario is that we win the next three, four or five games and build that momentum,” he said. “We now look towards Kilmarnock and we will have to rest ahead of that game and make sure we are ready. We had a training session on Saturday and then we prepare as best we can to try and make sure we get another three points in the league. Then we will think about Europe, Rosenborg and next Thursday.”

That return leg is on many people’s minds for obvious reasons. A subdued and tame first-half display left Hearts 2-0 down at the interval, but their revitalisation in the second half leaves them in a decent position to succeed in a very winnable tie. Much of that is down to Lawrence Shankland’s 78th-minute header in the Lerkendal Stadion.

“The goal we scored could prove absolutely priceless,” commented Haring. “It remains to be seen but it was a big moment and now we have something to take into next week. The message at half-time was clear and simple: The coaches asked us to score a goal and then see how they reacted to that.

“It was also about seeing how we would react and it changed everything. You could see how the fans inside the stadium reacted to the goal we scored. It's the simplest rule in football: Goals change games. That's why you play football, to score goals.

“We managed to score one but we could have had more. There's everything to play for in the second leg. Shanks showed yet again that if you put the ball into the box and the delivery is right, then there is always a good chance he will score.

“Goals change everything. It wasn't a particularly good start, we started slowly but I don’t think we deserved to be two goals down at half-time. It took us a while to figure out what they were trying to do. In the second half we deserved at least our goal and maybe even more.

“We pushed for a second goal and it could have come but we will now take this result back home and see what will happen next Thursday. It's definitely a result which I believe we can turn around.”

The Norwegians’ energy and running power from midfield caused Hearts untold problems in the first leg. The winner of this tie progresses to the Conference League play-off to meet either Hajduk Split of Croatia or the Greek club PAOK Salonika. For Hearts, there is no point looking too far ahead until Thursday’s second leg is finished.

What they cannot afford is to give Rosenborg the time and space in possession that they were allowed in Trondheim. Haring felt Hearts did not justify themselves as an attacking force often enough – a viewpoint that many other observers seem to share. They pressed their hosts back during the second half and openings began to appear once the game was being played in Rosenborg’s half of the field. That is probably the key lesson to be learned ahead of the second leg.

“It took time for us to understand what they were trying to do,” conceded Haring. “We spoke about that at half-time. I felt we dealt with it much better. We were much better in possession and we got the ball forward quicker, we played more in their half and played better in their final third.

“We could have still done that a bit more and moved the ball even quicker into their final third and worked them more. We could have asked more questions of them as I thought offensively we didn't push enough to be even more dangerous.”

Hearts replaced Beni Baningime at half-time when the Congolese midfielder complained of feeling a twinge in his hamstring. Thursday was his first competitive appearance from the start since March 2022 due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Although he found life difficult up against a dynamic and vigorous Norwegian midfield, team-mates can easily understand his predicament.

Haring offered an insight into his own injury struggles, plus the endeavour and patience required when you start playing games again. “I have been there before in my career when I've been out injured for a while and had to come back and get going again. I know that Beni is a good player,” he said.

“He has been doing really well since he's come back. It's been really impressive to watch given the long amount of time he has been out, to see how quickly he's adapted again to things with his speed in training and even in games. I also thought he did okay in the Rosenborg game and he went off as a precaution more than anything else. Hopefully he'll be fine for Sunday and for next week.”