Hearts lost their second Conference League game in a row and are now winless in four in all competitions.
A 2-0 defeat to Cercle Brugge, was another game under new manager Neil Critchley where they competed well and got themselves into decent positions, creating a good number of chances.
But there is a lack of confidence and conviction in attacking areas and they have only scored one goal in those four games.
It is really concerning for the Tynecastle club who will look to do business in January but need to find solutions before then.
On the night, there were some pretty good individual performances even though won’t give fans much comfort tonight.
Here, Not the Old Firm gives our Hearts players ratings in Brugge.
Hearts player ratings vs Cercle Brugge
Craig Gordon 7 – Made a couple of good saves late in the first half, most notably from Gary Magnee. Deceived for the goal by a mishit and not called into action too many other times until another smart stop in the second period.
Adam Forrester 6 – Some good moments from the youngster and some tricky ones. Certainly still doesn’t look out of place.
Frankie Kent 7 – Used his defensive nous on occasion to nullify threats.
Kye Rowles 5 – Not a great night and didn’t cover himself in glory for the goal.
James Penrice 8 – Continues to be a shining light for this Hearts team and a real attacking threat from left-back.
Malachi Boateng 7 – Neat and tidy as ever as well as being a physical presence.
Cammy Devlin 7 – Caught a strike sweetly and it looked to be heading on target before being blocked. Generally a decent display from the Aussie midfielder.
Alan Forrest 7 – A threat but could have done better in a couple of attacking situations.
Yan Dhanda 5 – Can’t seem to affect the game enough playing on the left. Flitted in and out of it and not enough output.
Lawrence Shankland 6 – That missed penalty will be the talking point and it just sums up the spell he is going through. Continues to work hard for the team.
Kenneth Vargas 6 – A typical Vargas performance, i.e. a lot of promise and threatening to do something but often giving the ball away cheaply. Ragged and loose in possession.
Substitutes
Blair Spittal 5 – On for Dhanda on 59 minutes.
Daniel Oyegoke 4 – On for Forrester.
Barrie McKay 3 – Got the last 15 minutes
James Wilson 4 – On to try and sniff something out but didn’t manage it this time.
Liam Boyce N/A – On too late to make a difference.