Hearts ended 2024 with yet another wretched result as they conceded two stoppage time goals to throw away a 2-0 lead to Ross County.
The Jambos were poised to leapfrog the Staggies into tenth after James Wilson’s double but instead remain 11th and very much in crisis mode.
With the seconds ticking down, they twice failed to properly defend balls into the box and Joshua Nisbet was first to punish them by firing home.
Then a Craig Gordon blunder allowed Jordan White to equalise with the easiest of tap ins.
Fans are rightly furious at the pathetic collapse which leaves them in a relegation fight.
Manager Neil Critchley is no different but has pinpointed one refereeing decision which could have changed the outcome dramatically.
Critchley fumes at Hearts penalty denial
With the score at 2-0, Hearts thought they were about to get a chance to score a third from the spot when referee Ross Hardie awarded a penalty for a foul by Michee Efete on James Penrice.
It was overturned after a VAR check which has confused Critchley as while the foul by Efete started outside the box, it continued inside – an example of which we seen in the recent Premier Sports Cup final with the SFA later admitting a mistake had been made.
The VAR replays showed the whistler a freeze frame of the initial point of contact and he changed his decision.
The Jambos boss said: “The referee gives a foul, and the initial contact might be outside the box but it clearly carries on inside the box, so it’s a penalty.
“He gives the foul, then looks at the screen and gives a free-kick. The contact carrying on into the box means it is a penalty. I thought we had cleared that up after the [League] cup final, but clearly not.”
Critchley on Hearts defending
That didn’t mean he was ignoring the part his own players played in the capitulation.
Critchley, who earlier explained captain Lawrence Shankland’s absence, said it was two “crazy” moments from his defence.
He added: “We were comfortable at 2-0 and the game was over, really. They hadn’t really threatened our goal, so we should have seen the game out.
“It’s just two crazy moments that we don’t defend well enough in the penalty area, and two crosses that we don’t stop from coming in, that cost us three points.
“It was really like a war of attrition. You’re relying on moments, and we had two really good moments for our goals.
“Those were two moments of quality that put us in front, and those were the difference between the teams at that moment in time, and we should have seen the game out to take all three points.”