Rangers boss Derek McInnes was left to lament basic defensive errors despite his team salvaging a point against Hearts on his return to Tynecastle.
McInnes’ side had taken a first-half lead through Kevin Kelsy, only to fall 2-1 behind after half-time when Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller struck for Hearts.
Rangers snatched a dramatic point at the death thanks to a header from Olwethu Makhanya, but it was a missed opportunity on a night when Celtic also dropped points.
McInnes, who was given a hostile reception as he went back to his old stomping ground in Gorgie and even appeared to become embroiled in an altercation with Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken at full-time, admitted that Rangers simply were not good enough to win on the night.
‘I think when you go in front at a place like this, we’re disappointed we never showed more authority in the game,’ he said.
‘I don’t think you expect to have control when you come to Tynecastle. We’ve got a very young forward line and I don’t think we secured the ball enough.
Wouter Vrancken and Derek McInnes share a frosty handshake at full-time at Tynecastle
‘I thought Hearts, certainly for that 15-minute period before half-time, kept picking up a lot of the ball and feeding their wider players and forward players.
‘I thought their forward players looked after the ball a lot better. We were giving away umpteen free-kicks and playing with fire, to be honest.
‘You’ve got to credit Hearts. I think they had the better players. I think they had three or four real top performers and players who played really well, I have to be honest with that.
‘We never started the second half. It’s inexplicable, really. We lose another free-kick, given away cheaply, and we get punished this time for it with Claudio’s goal.
‘They’re capable of punishing you and they were good enough to punish us. We never defended with any real certainty tonight and we needed to in those moments. Ultimately, we weren’t good enough to win the game.’
There seemed to be a bit of tension between McInnes and Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken at full-time but both managers brushed it off.
Hearts winger Calvin Miller had turned the game around when firing the Gorgie side ahead
‘I think he was just thanking me for how grateful he is for leaving him such a strong squad here,’ added McInnes.
Hearts boss Vrancken insisted he had nothing but praise for his team as they continue to battle through an injury crisis.
The Tynecastle side are without eight key players at present but gave a good account of themselves in what proved to be an entertaining encounter.
‘When you concede a goal so late, you’re always disappointed because I think we deserved the three points,’ he said.
‘It would have been a great win, but it was still a massive performance from us. I am really proud of what the players are doing at the moment.’
