Neil Critchley, Hearts’ head coach, felt his men started well against Dundee United, but a well-taken, second-half header from Sam Dalby was a massive blow to the Tynecastle team, so was the red card to teenage striker, James Wilson.
He told Hearts TV: “We played with real energy, played on the front foot, good quality, pressed well, organised and created numerous opportunities in the final third and the only bit missing was the final bit.
“Shooting straight at the goalkeeper, or missed the target, our final pass, we could have shown more quality.”
The red card had a “massive” bearing on the game but, after that, he felt you could not say who had 11 and who had ten, there was nothing, in his view, between the teams.
Critchley (pictured) added: “We were punished for a mistake we made and that is hard to take as the players gave so much but when you are attacking or defending with one less man it is very hard to get something out of the game. I can’t fault the players in the way they went right to the end.”
On the final match before the split, a trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell, Critchley said: “It is still with us, we are not relying on other results, and it makes for an exciting week, but we know if we go there are win and it is done.”
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