The Ugandan was deployed in a shock left back role against Trbazonspor's star man and played well after Wouter Vrancken's morning bombshell

It could have been the ultimate nightmare but Rogers Mato insisted marking Mo Salah ended up becoming a dream come true.

Injury-hit Hearts lost 2-0 away to Trabzonspor, but Wouter Vrancken’s makeshift side fought hard and earned a lot of plaudits. Harry Milne suffered a potential ACL injury before the game, meaning the winger had to drop back and fill the left-back void against the Egyptian superstar.

Mato admitted: “He is the best player in Africa, was the top scorer in the Premier League and is a top player. Playing against him is a dream come true. It boosts my confidence as a player and us as a team because they are a good team if truth be told.

“It is cool to play against him. It is great to get these experiences against top players. The way he moves, one touch and he moves quickly. Marking him is hard. Now I know what goes on with defenders and full-backs when I try to take them on.”

The Ugandan international joked that he didn’t have a sleepless night because Vrancken never told him he was part of his masterplan to keep Salah quiet until the morning of the game.

Mato confirmed: “He told me during the morning walk. He explained the tactics and how I needed to move. It was good he told me in the morning and I didn’t lose any sleep. If he had told me the previous night that I would be marking Mo Salah then I wouldn’t have slept.”

Salah and Trabzonspor gave Hearts words of praise after the game, although it was one of his teammates who got the Liverpool legend's prized No. 10 shirt.

“He just gave us a hug and wished us all the best for the next games,” Mato proudly said. “It is good to hear that from such players and big names. It gives us a bit more confidence to believe in yourself and each other as a team. No, I tried to (Get Salah’s shirt) but I didn’t. I think Calvin (Miller) got it.”

Mato revealed it's more than a decade ago since he last played as full-back and it was on the other side.

He explained: “I last played right-back in the juniors league. I used to play right—back before they moved me up front because of my pace. I was 12 at the time. It was the last time I played there, but they saw I had the speed and had to move me upfront.”

Mato has been desperate to get more game time and is willing to play anywhere to keep himself in the starting XI, given the number of injuries they have in the full-back areas.

He acknowledged: “Yes, so many injuries. God decided, so we have to cope with it. It will be the gaffer who decides if I am more of a help in the backline or upfront. I will just go with his decision. We have injuries and we will just have to cope with his decision.”

Hearts didn't any points from Turkey but they will have taken confidence, after a heavy summer hammering to Celtic.

He insisted: “Absolutely. If you saw the way things went in the Celtic game, they didn’t go well on our side. The players tried to come back and build the confidence. I think the confidence has come back for the next game.”

Hearts have one win in six games and Mato is keen to get back to winning ways at Motherwell tomorrow.

The Hearts star said: “We need to bounce back from what we have had in the last two games. It has not been good for us.

“We need to come back stronger and 100%. These are only small setbacks in football and life.

“Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes you draw. “We need to step up for ourselves to come back for our brothers who are injured. We need to be there for them.”