An opportunity missed, that was Derek McInness’ take on the 1-1 draw with Dundee United at Tynecastle but the head coach said: “We did not deserve any more than the point we got.”
He felt a combination of things were apparent and he conceded: “We were not quite at our best.”
Dundee United, he admitted, were good and set up with a counter-attacking threat.
McInnes also did not want to be too critical as 12 games in and the Jambos have hit 30 points and they are still unbeaten but the expectation ahead of the game was to claim three points with a home win.
They Gorgie boys now have two weeks to lick their wounds before a trip to Pittodrie on November 23 to face Aberdeen.
There they will be minus defender Craig Halkett who picked up a yellow card against the Tayside team to tip him over the limit.
Earlier, it appeared that the Men in Maroon were on course for another win when Alexandros Kyziridis fired in a netted low shot which squirmed into the Dundee net off United goalkeeper Yevhenii Kucherenko with 25 minutes on the clock.
But slack marking at the back post allowed at a corner on the United left swung over by Amar Fatah found unmarked Luca Stephenson who bulleted a header into the Jambos net on the stroke of half time.
Injury-hit United were a real threat on the break and had the ball in the Hearts’ net on three other occasions – twice from Zac Sapsford and once from Farah – but all were ruled out for infringements.
Overall, table-topping Hearts failed to gain real control in midfield, possibly due to the late omission of experienced Beni Baningime who suffered a muscle tear in training in midweek.
Tomas Magnusson started in his place but McInnes admitted that his men required more poise on the ball.
The Men in Maroon appeared rushed during a bruising 90 minutes in front of another 18,000-plus crowd who witness a game which McInnes described as “a wee bit bastetbally”.
He also felt Hearts were “a wee bit emotional” in the second-half, playing “last five football for 35 to 40 minutes”. Yes, the Jambos generated crosses, but they were not capitalised upon and entries into the United box not fully exploited.
McInnes observed that he had possibly one to many attacking players on the pitch and he agreed that Hearts did not test United’s goalkeeper enough during a frustrating 90-plus minutes.
Undoubtedly, United’s front thee of Sapsford, Ivan Dolcek and Fatah, were a real handful and the visitors could have claimed more goals but for sloppy finishing, Fatah being one of the culprits.
Still, the Tynecastle team seven clear after Celtic cruised to a four zero win at Kilmarnock. The Parkhead men have played a game less and are next on duty when they host Motherwell on Saturday, November 22.
WE REMEMBER THEM: Tynecastle fell silent to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Picture Nigel Duncan
