Clark the only one to come away with pass marks in Jam Tarts derby disaster
Player of the match
This one goes to Zander Clark, quite easily.
The goalkeeper made an excellent first-half save from Elie Youan to keep the away side level at the break. He also did well with leaving his line, showing great presence in plucking the ball from the air.
Of the rest of the Hearts players, nobody played well. Kye Rowles made a number of interceptions but was poor in possession and struggled in physical battles. Barrie McKay looked better than he has for most of this year but still couldn’t make an impact. Nathaniel Atkinson was lively going forward but poor defensively. The rest aren’t worth mentioning.
Defining moment Nisbet’s goal is the obvious answer, but it’s worth mentioning the late freekick which saw Stephen Kingsley hit a weak shot into the wall. Hearts had opportunities to make things happen around the final third but failed to find the best ball or shot to trouble the home side consistently.
Ref watch
John Beaton seemed to let off CJ Egan-Riley with an early foul after already picking up a booking, while Paul Hanlon should’ve been flashed a second yellow for taking down Lawrence Shankland in the build up to Kingsley’s free-kick.
Benefit of hindsight Interim boss Steven Naismith promised a number of changes but in the end this looked like a Hearts team similar to the one which fell into the malaise, which ultimately cost Robbie Neilson his job. It’s hard to say what exactly he could have done differently with the starting XI, though. Stephen Humphrys could’ve got a nod from the start but frustrated when he came off the bench anyway. Of the other players on the bench, there aren’t any who are in particularly good form. Josh Ginnelly was a miss, and maybe a return to the 3-5-2 with him partnering Shankland is needed to stop this nose-dive.
Moment you may have missed
At 1-0 down, a frustrated Shankland raged at Humphrys after attempting to take a quick throw-in and finding his strike partner had his back turned to the ball.