Hearts manager Derek McInnes labelled his side’s defending as ‘inexplicable’ after dropping two crucial points in the race for the Premiership title with a frustrating 2-2 draw at Livingston.
The visitors fell behind within five minutes to a fine Stevie May strike, before goals from Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga either side of the interval put the Jambos deservedly in front.
But their good work was undone shortly before the hour mark as Lewis Smith capitalised on Hearts’ slackness in their own half to level things up and earn his side a share of the spoils.
The draw was enough to see Hearts – who ended the game with 10 men after Marc Leonard was sent off late on – return to the top of the table having been briefly replaced by Rangers over the weekend.
However, that was of little consolation to McInnes, who was left furious after watching his team blow the chance to restore their three-point advantage ahead of next weekend’s visit of Motherwell.
‘[It’s] absolutely two points dropped,’ he said. ‘You know, I thought we lost two really poor goals.
Derek McInnes said his team conceded ‘really poor’ goals in the 2-2 draw with Livingston
Livingston’s Cristian Montano consoles Hearts striker Claudio Braga after the full-time whistle
‘First goal comes from the press not being right. Just because the press isn’t right at the outset, it still means you don’t throw petrol into the fire and make the situation worse.
‘As soon as [Craig] Halkett gets dragged out into the wide area, we’re not right. It’s such a poor goal to lose. The second goal we lose is even worse.
‘It was inexplicable how we gave the ball away in that area of the pitch. We should just be looking after the ball and staying in charge of the game.
‘Even with half an hour to go, psychologically it changes because we then have to try and go again.
‘Livingston then, as a team at the bottom of the League, have something to hang on to. I think that’s how the game played out.
‘We never really demonstrated enough of what we were good at in that last part. Livingston more than earned their point, there’s no two ways about that.
‘I think that we are just annoyed the types of goals we lose today aren’t what we normally are like. We’ve lost one goal in four games coming into today’s game.
Livi boss Marvin Bartley watched as his team’s winless league run was extended to 30 games
‘I never thought we looked quite settled defensively the whole game.’
The return of Shankland to the starting lineup for the first time since mid-January saw the Hearts captain notch his 12th league goal of the season as well a second-half assist for his strike partner, and McInnes was pleased to have his star man back in the fold and making a telling contribution.
‘I thought he was terrific throughout,’ said McInnes. ‘He looked a threat, his header was top-class, and he was in the middle of the goal so I think you see exactly what he is today.
‘And he had two or three other chances which you want your strikers to get.
‘I was delighted with our attacking threat.
‘I thought the combination between Shankland and Braga was really good and it’s great that both lads have scored, and we were unlucky not to score one or two more.
‘But there can’t be a trade-off with that, and there was no need for us to lose the types of goals we lose.’
Livi boss Marvin Bartley hailed his players’ performance against the league leaders, but admitted that he would happily swap plaudits for points after seeing his side extend their winless run to 30 games.
The Lions currently sit 11 points adrift at the foot of the table with just six games remaining, but Bartley is refusing to throw in the towel.
‘There’s a reason why we only have one win,’ he said. ‘Basically, in games, obviously, we’ve not attacked well enough or we haven’t defended well enough. I’m very straightforward with the players when it comes to that.
‘There’s no sympathy in terms of having good performances. We have only got one win, we are where we are in the league because we deserve to be there, ultimately.
‘If they show me that kind of effort that they showed today in every single game, that’s all I can ask of them.
‘This team will keep on fighting.’
