Hearts were bumped back down to earth with a home defeat to Kilmarnock.
It was a first loss under new manager Neil Critchley after a promising start with wins over St Mirren, Omonia Nicosia and a draw against Hibs.
But the 2-1 Tynecastle reverse sends the Jambos back to the bottom of the Premiership with Hibs’ point at Ross County moving them above their Edinburgh rivals.
Hearts were poor this time out and their boss gave his reaction post-match.
Critchley bemoans Hearts defending vs Killie
The Jambos had managed to edge themselves into a 1-0 lead at half-time thanks to Alan Forrest’s strike but proceeded to chuck that away by conceding two in the space of five minutes early in the second half.
Both were contributed to by weak defending from the home side and it was Matty Kennedy and Kyle Vassell who flipped the scoreline round.
Critchley was unimpressed with his side’s defending.
He said post-match: “I thought we started the game very well, pushed them right back, had control of the game. Ironically, just as Kilmarnock and the flow of the game started to change a little bit, we scored a really good goal in a breakaway situation. It was a really good goal to be 1-0 up at half-time. I felt our play deserved that.
“I thought we started the second half quite well as well, and then just two really, really poor moments of defending have cost us the game. I felt after that there was more than enough time for us to come back, and I just felt there was a little bit of anxiety in our play and we lost our way a little bit, which was a big learning curve for me tonight.
Asked where the faults were for the goals, he added: “Where do you want me to start? The first one is from the goalkeeper, he just kicks the ball long – first ball, second ball, third ball, we don’t pick the ball up. Within a few seconds, the ball ends up in the back of our goal. It’s far, far too easy.
“At the second goal, a long throw-in, the finer details are getting your positioning right inside the box. We don’t stay in front of their first man. He gets first contact, they get second contact and we get out-muscled in the six-yard box and they score. It was just too easy.
“If you look at the goals we’ve conceded in the last two games, one is a wide free-kick against Hibs, a long kick tonight and then a long throw-in. It’s something that we’ve got to eradicate from our game, otherwise we’re going to find ourselves in those situations.”
Critchley address Shankland situation at Hearts
It was another frustrating night for captain Lawrence Shankland, who remains on one goal for the campaign after breaking the 30 barrier last season.
His manager insists the performances have been there and the 29-year-old is contributing to the team.
He’s urged him to keep believing and the goals will start to flow again.
“No, it’s not going for him,” acknowledged Critchley. “In the last few performances, I’ve been really pleased with his all-round play and he’s been so close to scoring. It’s not just quite happening for him in front of the goal, but that’s not for the want of effort.
“He’s just got to keep believing in who he is as a player because he’s bringing a lot to the team. He brings others into the game and I thought some of his play around the box was very good. The goals will come for him. He was close again on a couple of occasions tonight so it’s important we make sure that he knows what his contribution is to the team and not just his goals.”