Hearts report and player ratings v Kilmarnock: Desperate situation, red card, quality issue

This truly harrowing defeat saw Hearts’ league misery continue. They played against 10 men almost for the entire afternoon but lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock, a result which leaves them bottom of the Premiership by a point. It is a completely unacceptable situation for a club which pertains to be Scotland’s third biggest, and one which merely amplifies calls for reinforcements come January’s transfer window.

A red card for the Kilmarnock defender Robbie Deas inside five minutes at Rugby Park should have seen Hearts capitalise. Instead, they fell behind to Bruce Anderson’s 18th-minute penalty and never really looked like recovering. Head coach Neil Critchley made four attacking substitutions hoping to inject fresh impetus into his team, but the lack of a spark was evident.

Kilmarnock deserved enormous credit for pursuing an attacking approach even after Deas’ dismissal. That earned them the pivotal penalty, and thereafter they marshalled the visitors with authority. Manager Derek McInnes yet again oversaw a victory over the Tynecastle side - Killie’s second this season - to leave Hearts with only one win from their last eight games in all competitions. It is an increasingly desperate situation the longer the Edinburgh club remain bottom of the table threatened with relegation.

Craig Halkett was fit to return to Hearts’ defence having missed Thursday night’s UEFA Conference League defeat in Copenhagen with a niggle. That was a bonus following news that Halkett’s fellow centre-back, Frankie Kent, would be out for months with a quad muscle injury. Halkett got little time to ease himself into action again during a frenetic start at Rugby Park.

Musa Drammeh struck the post from Blair Spittal’s corner inside the opening minute before Deas was dismissed. He came through the back of Kenneth Vargas in a tackle and caught the Costa Rican with his studs. Following a touchline monitor review, referee Don Robertson upgraded his initial yellow card to a red and Deas was ordered off. It was Kilmarnock’s seventh red card of the season so far.

The hosts didn’t allow the numerical disadvantage to hinder them and scored first from the penalty spot on 18 minutes. The Hearts left-back James Penrice hesitated to deal with Lewis Mayo’s long ball as it bounced inside the area. Joe Wright attacked it and Penrice was judged to have fouled him with a high foot. The defender pleaded that there was no contact but VAR confirmed a foul, and Anderson calmly converted from the spot.

Only Craig Gordon’s goalkeeping expertise prevented Marley Watkins putting Kilmarnock 2-0 ahead from Liam Polworth’s clever through pass 10 minutes later. Hearts did not look like the team with 11 men as their opponents roamed forward to deliver a number of dangerous and inviting cross balls. It was no surprise seeing the visiting head coach Critchley shake his head in the technical area with his team toiling to produce anything like the required quality.

He introduced two technical players in Yan Dhanda and Jorge Grant for the second half, closely followed by Liam Boyce and James Wilson. Gordon again produced an important save when Kilmarnock substitute David Watson sprinted on to Brad Lyons’ through ball and shot with his left foot. Another attempt from Liam Donnelly was deflected wide by Kye Rowles’ challenge.

Despite controlling possession, Hearts continued to toil for clear scoring chances. Dhanda found Penrice for a right-footed attempt which Kilmarnock’s substitute goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara pushed away. He had replaced the injured Robby McCrorie at half-time. The game petered out towards the end as Kilmarnock saw out their victory with relative ease, despite Dhanda’s 25-yard shot crashing off the crossbar. Jeers from the away end at full-time were entirely understandable.