I watched Hearts vs Aberdeen from the press box: Five things I spotted as Jambos vent refereeing gripes

Hearts fought valiantly but eventually lost 2-1 and ended their Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen playing with nine men.

A Pape Habe Gueye header burst the maroon bubble early doors but Lawrence Shankland pumped it up with a clinical leveller. Michael Steinwender was sent off before the end of the half but Hearts did not waver and kept the Pittodrie side at bay. Cammy Devlin was sent off for a second booking and Oday Dabbagh punished the Jambos.

It was a game that could hardly be of any more importance for head coach Neil Critchley. The fans had started to up the criticism ante building up to this after failure over missing out on the Premiership’s top six. A win here would right some wrongs but perhaps going all the way like the heroes of 1998, 2006 and 2012 before them would make the story complete.

They started on the front foot with tension rife in both ranks. It was a game dogged by the same question hanging over both teams - could they win when the pressure was on? Only one could answer that fully. Amid their positive start, Hearts totally switched off and allowed Gueye to head off the bar and Craig Gordon and into the net.

Shankland answered emphatically to the added pressure put on his team and the side he skippered furthered their performance even after Steinwender’s red. They soldiered on, weary but battling as cramps on both side became just part of the game. Devlin’s red card appeared harsh with the second yellow in debatable territory and Aberdeen pounced from there to leave Hearts staring at five bottom six fixtures to end this season. I was in the press box for the game. Here are five things I spotted.

Refereeing angst

This game started off alright but it veered into stop start territory as the challenges and niggles began to be punished, or so it felt. Hearts’ camp have not been quiet in letting John Beaton and co know about their anger, assistant Mike Garrity sent off, Critchley blasting him in his post match media conference and the mixed zone as well painting a picture of the dressing room being not too happy with the whistler. You never want a game like this impacted by refereeing performance but this one will have decision debate the post match discourse.

Critchley

A narrative had been forming in some quarters ahead of this one. Win, and some of which has gone is forgiven and Critchley could take the post split fixtures to see who could handle it long-term in maroon and who’d be best to start in the cup final. Lose, and depending the manner of defeat, questions over his future would loom. He went tonto for the leveller in a show of how much this game meant to him, the type of passion punters love. For all the criticisms he had, he made the right changes at the right times in this one to game manage a situation most difficult.

The Diamond

A major bone of contention within the fanbase was the diamond formation Critchley continues to employ. It was first spotted in defeat to Rangers but the performance that day was good despite the 3-1 loss. That’s perhaps been its peak with the game at Motherwell where they drew 0-0 spawning just two shots on target to take it to three league games without a goal, albeit they shifted in formation for an away match at Celtic.

Critchley defied the doubters and stuck to his tactical guns here. The space between Shankland in the 10 and Baningime at 6 appeared wide on the Hampden pitch before a change was needed. To the head coach’s credit, he went to three centre backs after the red and it totally stifled Aberdeen and reduced the game to very few shots on target.

Shankland proves his worth

Out of contract, four league goals prior to this and fans are beginning to debate how Shankland will be remembered come the end of time in maroon. When his team needed him most here, amid booing and whistling from fans of his former club, he struck hard and precise to change the flow of this semi. Yes, this season has been disappointing for him, but the fact he is still the man teammates and supporters look to in attack amid that shows how high the regard he’s held in really is. Ran into the ground and warmly applauded by fans as he went off limping. Moments like Saturday and the limbs he caused are part of the reason why, in time, he will be remembered fondly those in Gorgie.

Healthy backing

I went through to this one via the train and while it was early doors by the time I got to the stadium, say about back of 10, it was only maroon I spotted on my journey. That was much the case at 12:30pm with the Hearts support dwarfing the visitors from the north. This isn’t a bullet point to make sly digs on one attendance compared with the other, rather emphatic proof of how big Hearts really are. After a mixed league campaign and frustrations, they have stll turned out in their numbers as they always do and backed the team plenty. Gueye’s goal totally changed the mood music inside the ground, as did Shankland’s. Hearts fans were the ones in control of how this game felt and sounded.