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Hearts aimed a cheeky dig at Celtic following their European success on Thursday night – only for the joke to quickly come back in their direction. Winning play-offs in Austria isn’t for everyone… pic.twitter.com/k1J9lTKpn4 — Heart of Midlothian FC (@JamTarts) August 26, 2026 The Tynecastle side secured their place in the Conference League after overcoming Rapid Vienna on penalties in Austria. A 2-2 draw sent the play-off tie to a shootout, with Hearts eventually prevailing 4-3 to book their spot in the league phase. They wasted little time referencing Celtic’s Champions League disaster against LASK the previous evening. Martin O’Neill’s side had travelled to Linz with a commanding 3-0 first-leg advantage and then moved four goals clear on aggregate, only to suffer an extraordinary collapse and drop into the Europa League. Hearts took advantage of Celtic’s misery with a post on X which read: “Winning play-offs in Austria isn’t for everyone…” However, the choice of Austria as the punchline opened the door for a rather painful response. Winning in Graz isn’t for everyone – all the best in the @Conf_League! 🏁 #sturmgraz https://t.co/EOcPP5kIWs pic.twitter.com/5XKp2a99mD — SK Sturm Graz (@SKSturm) August 27, 2026 Sturm Graz replied: “Winning in Graz isn’t for everyone – all the best in the @Conf_League!” It was a reference to Hearts’ own chastening European experience earlier this summer. The Jambos were thrashed 4-0 by Sturm in Graz in July before suffering another defeat in the return leg, losing 2-0 at home to complete a comprehensive 6-0 aggregate loss. Celtic can expect to take plenty of stick following the manner of their collapse against LASK. HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below… NEW BOOK LAUNCH FROM CELTIC STAR BOOKS…Celtic in the Fifties in two volumes, available to pre-order now… Quick Tip – Add Celticshorts.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE….Hail Hail!