Jamie McCart's Hearts injury explained as Neil Critchley talks on red card claim against Dundee

Jamie McCart was not risked in Hearts’ Scottish Cup quarter-final against Dundee as he didn’t quite feel right after training on Thursday. The centre-back sat out the 3-1 victory as Lewis Neilson deputised in central defence. He delivered a strong display to help Hearts secure a semi-final place with a sublime double from Sander Kartum added to a Simon Murray own goal.

The Tynecastle head coach Neil Critchley explained why McCart didn’t feature after feeling a leg injury. “Jamie trained yesterday. He was in the team to play, but just didn't feel right,” said Critchley. “When he's completed the training, we've done all our prep. That was unfortunate. With the defensive issues we've got at the moment, we can't take a calculated risk.

“Lewis came in and, again, Lewis has been training really well. You could see this week, he had the bit between his teeth in the way he trained. For someone to come into a game like that and play how he played, I thought him and Michael [Steinwender] were quite a sound, solid partnership.

“Dundee didn’t have too many chances or clear opportunities. That's the way we work in training. Everyone knows their role and responsibility because we always train together as a collective and we do a lot of unit work. Even if one player comes out and another one comes in, they've been doing the same practices.

“They get familiar with how we want to play and that's where you get that seamless transition. If somebody is injured, someone can step in and hopefully it doesn't look like he's not played for the last few weeks.”

Hearts are confident McCart will not be absent long-term. “Hopefully, no. He trained yesterday and he's not feeling 100%. He just felt like he couldn't sprint and open up. We just took that decision yesterday, took that out of his hands. Lewis is in and ready to play. Fair play to him.”

Red card appeal as referee makes a key decision for Dens Park side

Hearts fans appealed for a red card in the second half with the score level at 1-1 following Joe Shaughnessy’s headed equaliser. The Dundee substitute Mo Sylla impeded Kenneth Vargas as he sprinted through on the counter-attack. Elton Kabangu picked up the loose ball and ran through to force a save from the visiting goalkeeper Trevor Carson. Referee Kevin Clancy then produced a yellow for Sylla when play stopped, presumably on the basis that a clear goalscoring opportunity had not been denied.

“I understand why the referee played on. Elton's in, one-v-one with a goalkeeper to beat,” said Critchley. “Honestly, at the time, I never said anything to the fourth official. I totally understand why he would play on in that moment. I'm not sure why then he brings back and gives a yellow card. I'm sure there is a reason for that. I don't know the rules well enough, which is poor for me. Why that happened? When it happened, I wasn't shouting for sending off because I'd seen Elton was in. So, no problem.”

On the match itself, Critchley praised Hearts’ performance as they became the first club into the semi-finals. “I thought it was a really good game, a good cup tie,” he remarked. “At 1-1 the game's in the balance, but that was the perfect response from the group from last week [losing at Hibs]. We had to show, again, a lot of character tonight and belief in what we were doing.

“This group continues to do that and we're making steps forward. We're in the next round and we can sit back and relax and watch all the others have a stressful weekend. We had a fantastic first goal, a brilliant piece of quality from Sander. That helped, but Dundee caused a lot of problems. They get the ball forward and it was long throws and set-pieces and you have to defend them really well.

READ MORE: Report and player ratings from Hearts 3-1 Dundee

“We defended poorly for their equaliser where we switched off, allowed him to get to the byline and then really poor marking in the box. But then we have to regroup and go again. We had a great chance to score soon after, to go 2-1 when Elton was through.

“There was a little bit of fortune maybe for the second goal, but it's also good delivery. If you put it in the right spaces and the right areas, that can happen because you're making them defend awkward balls into the box. That’s why we put in an inswinger - put it in on the goal and that can happen. It was a brilliant third goal and we had some good opportunities to really kill the game off. It was a great atmosphere. Dundee fans came out in big numbers and it was a proper cup tie and a really enjoyable evening.”

Critchley said Kartum’s two brilliant finishes were the kind of attributes Hearts identified when scouting him at former club SK Brann. “That's what we saw in him when we recruited him,” said the manager. “He's obviously taken a little bit of time to get up to speed, which is understandable. We've seen his quality. That's been evident in training and he's been getting fitter and stronger all the time.

“He's come on from the St Mirren game where he had his first start. I think we see that tonight. He looks in better rhythm and they were two fantastic goals. I'm not sure how the second one went in really. I was expecting him to shoot off his right foot, but when the lefties are normally reluctant to use their right foot.”