Ross County handed Hearts only their second defeat in 17 games and injected a huge surge of life into their own relegation fight in the process. The Tynecastle side will feel they contributed to their own downfall during the 2-1 defeat in Dingwall, and there will also be questions asked about some of referee Grant Irvine's decisions. Nonetheless, County's measured performance should not be overlooked as they secured a result which could change the course of their season.
Simon Murray scored the two goals after some suspect defending by Toby Sibbick on both occasions. Substitute Yutaro Oda halved the deficit in the final seconds as Hearts tried to rescue a point. The County forward Jordan White missed an early chance which had to be seen to be believed, and Hearts were aggrieved that Stephen Kingsley's second-half strike from a free-kick was disallowed for offside.
After 13 wins from 16 games prior to heading north, the Tynecastle side must now regroup during the international break. This was far from their worst display of the campaign, and they will be frustrated that some of their own defending undermined their efforts.
After Monday's late Scottish Cup victory at Morton, Hearts carried their fine recent run of form north followed by 2,165 travelling fans. Ross County had lost only one of their last four matches under interim manager Don Cowie, the former Tynecastle midfielder. They were fresh from Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Hibs, a result secured by incoming Hearts midfielder Yan Dhanda's late equaliser. He was likely to be a key player for the Highlanders against his future employers.
County lost former Hearts loanee Connor Randall when he dropped out of the starting line-up before kick-off. Max Sheaf took his place in midfield. The hosts should have been ahead inside seven minutes but one of the most astonishing close-range misses you will ever see ensured the scoreline remained blank. Murray's driven run near the byline ended with a low ball across goal to White, who slid in for a seemingly obvious tap-in from two yards. Somehow his outstretched leg scooped the ball up and over the crossbar, much to Hearts' relief.
The visitors first tested George Wickens in the Ross County goal in the 24th minute when Sibbick volleyed a loose ball towards the net following Stephen Kingsley's cross. Wickens was alert to dive left and push the effort away. After chants of "Yan Dhanda, he's one of our own" from the away end, Hearts flipped their formation from 4-2-3-1 to 3-5-2 with Kingsley shunted into the centre of the back three.
Kenneth Vargas lashed a shot against the underside of the crossbar five minutes before the interval after Alan Forrest's effort rebounded into his path. With the Tynecastle side pushing and looking more likely to strike, County sprung an attack and plundered a crucial advantage on 42 minutes. Dhanda's lofted ball over the top found Murray sprinting in behind Sibbick and the striker's shot was parried low down by Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark. The ball rebounded to Sibbick but he dithered instead of clearing instantly, and Murray nipped in to prod the ball past Clark from a tight angle.
Murray made it 2-0 minutes into the second half. Sibbick's loose pass from defence gave the hosts a throw-in. From it, they worked the ball to Dhanda, whose pass out to Josh Reid allowed the wing-back to supply a low cross for the onrushing Murray to fire high into the net with his left foot. The hosts now had clear daylight between them and their opponents, whilst Hearts' task was suddenly significantly more difficult.
Lawrence Shankland was then cautioned for simulation after a penalty-box tackle by the Ross County defender Ryan Leak. Hearts mounted an all-out assault on the home team's goal in the hope of clawing something back from this encounter. Alan Forrest struck the outside of Wickens' goal frame and on 74 minutes Kingsley angled a sublime 22-yard-free-kick past the keeper and into the net, however a VAR touchline review by referee Irvine ended with the goal being disallowed for offside against Shankland. Irvine decided Shankland was interfering with play after standing in front of Wickens and then moving away just before Kingsley struck the ball. Hearts were less than happy.
Naismith's side kept pushing into the final minutes and Oda fired a lifeline in the 90th minute with a well-executed low strike in off the post. However, the afternoon ended with three points for County to underline the early promise Cowie's work continues to offer. His team now close to within one point of St Johnstone as they try to battle out of the Premiership's relegation play-off spot.
Here are the Hearts player ratings from Dingwall:
1. GK: Zander Clark
6/10 Back in for Craig Gordon. Will be unhappy with the defending at both County goals.
2. RB: Nathaniel Atkinson
6/10 Seems to be first-choice right-back at the moment. Good going forward but defending needs to improve.
3. RCB: Toby Sibbick
6/10 Hit a few diagonal balls out to Alan Forrest, plus a first-half volley which Wickens saved, but caught out by Murray at the opening goal. Slack pass also gave County possession before their second.
