Hearts debrief: Souttar positive, defining moment, 'BBC mistake'

Hearts' draw at Greenock Morton on Tuesday night was one of those games you want to instantly forget ever took place.

John Souttar can be happy with getting 90 minutes under his belt. Picture: SNS

In normal circumstances that would have been the case, but for the Championship winners it was a historic encounter. It was the fifth consecutive away league draw, the first time in the club's history that has happened.

The fact it arrived in the second tier doesn't sit well with fans, nor does failing to win any of the last six matches away from Tynecastle.

Cappielow's pitch was terrible and played its role in a turgid affair but, even still, it was no excuse for the standard of performance.

Player of the match

There were few positives from a Hearts perspective in terms of individual performances – or collectively. But John Souttar getting 90 minutes under his belt was another massive step for the centre-back. He was solid throughout and once again there was no apprehension with his injury and he did not look like someone who was playing just their second game since February 2020.

Defining moment

In a match which had few moments of note it probably has to be Steven Naismith’s pass out the park which gave Morton a corner. The captain came on as a substitute and it certainly wasn't the easiest game to make an impact but that moment encapsulated a turgid 90 minutes of football.

Ref watch

John Beaton was fine. John Souttar was booked for complaining about a foul which looked a clear foul but other than that, fine.

Benefit of hindsight

BBC Scotland host Jonathan Sutherland basically said what everybody was thinking, ‘why was this game selected for TV?’. The simple answer is more viewers with Hearts having the biggest fan base and the possibility the team could have won the Championship title at the time it was picked. But no, it was not the best selection.

Moment you may have missed

There was something about Hearts' system which just didn’t work. In the first half it appeared as if Shay Logan, Michael Smith and Andy Halliday were all playing two roles. It should have been a fluid formation but that didn't transpire and in turned impacted the team's performance.