Hearts player ratings v Cercle Brugge as one man lands 8/10 but infuriating failures at top end of pitch

We talk through each Hearts player and give them a mark out of ten for their display against the Belgians:

Craig Gordon: Beaten twice - one of which was a sclaff, the other a cruel deflection. Made a good save with his feet from Paris Brunner. Did very little wrong and was assured. 7

Adam Forrester: The young right-back was the first player to be booked on 33 minutes. Did well to deal with one-on-one break with Brunner not long after. Replaced by Daniel Oyegoke on the hour-mark, perhaps with his caution in mind. 6

Frankie Kent: Was unfortunate not to see his sliding tackle block the Cercle Brugge goal. Lost Thibo Somers early in the second half and was lucky his header went wide. Was then booked for a lunging tackle on 71 minutes on the same player. 5

Kyle Rowles: The Australian was the more diligent of the two centre-halves but found Brunner’s raw pace a challenge all evening. 6

James Penrice: The left-back continues to be Hearts’ most impressive player. Pretty solid defensively and always up with the attack. His searing run and cross set up Lawrence Shankland for a very good late chance. 8

Malachi Boateng: The defensive midfielder was a muted presence in the engine room. Replaced by Barrie McKay in the final 15 minutes as Hearts searched for an equaliser. 5

Cammy Devlin: The Australian always adds energy and combativeness but was unable to be a creative force. Did see one drilled effort blocked in the first half. 5

Yan Dhanda: The playmaker tried to get involved, but was unable to find a spark and also gave the ball away cheaply at times. Had one early second-half exit that was easily saved. Made way for Blair Spittal on 60 minutes. 5

Kenneth Vargas: Given his first start since his controversial comments on potentially leaving Hearts, a lot of the focus was on the Costa Rican. It was another infuriating display, as while he showed some nice moments with his pace and directness, his end product was sorely lacking. Had two really good openings in the second half but his efforts were too tame. Replaced by James Wilson. 5

Lawrence Shankland: The captain fluffed his lines with the penalty miss, blazing over the bar on 80 minutes. Also missed the target with a cute backheel and a header. Continues to put in the graft but his lack of end product remains galling. He looked absolutely dejected at the end. 4

Alan Forrest: Took the game to Cercle Brugge’s defence with a couple of nice runs but found it hard to create anything meaningful. Replaced by Liam Boyce right at the end. 6

Blair Spittal (on 60 mins): Linked up neatly at times with Penrice down the left but no real stardust. 3

Daniel Oyegoke (on 60 mins): The right-back’s main involvement was an unfortunate deflection from Gary Magnee’s strike that made it 2-0. 3

Barrie McKay (on 75 mins): Nothing creative of note. 2

James Wilson (on 75 mins): One nice run, never got a chance to be a super sub once more. 2

Liam Boyce (on 87 mins): No time to impress. n/a