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Hearts’ 100 per cent record in the Europa Conference League came to a grinding halt at Tynecastle on Thursday night as German side Heidenheim left Edinburgh with a 2-0 victory.
Neil Critchley’s Hearts team were superior in the first half in front of a packed stadium in Gorgie, but were left to rule missed chances from Lawrence Shankland, Frankie Kent and Alan Forrest as they failed to take advantage of their authority.
The Bundesliga side stepped up their level after the break and took the lead when winger Sirlord Conteh got on the end of a Mathias Honsak cross on 57 minutes.
As Hearts pressed for a leveller, Heidenheim clinched the match when Jan Schoppner rose above Frankie Kent to powerfully head home on 89 minutes.
The result leaves Hearts on six points in the Conference League ahead of their two remaining away trips to Copenhagen and Cercle Brugge before welcoming Petrocub to Tynecastle.
We give each starter a mark out of ten for their performance at Tynecastle.
9. Yan Dhanda
Tasked with supporting Shankland at the top of the pitch. A couple of nice touches when Hearts were in ascendancy in first half but influence diminished after restart and was replaced by Kenneth Vargas. 6 | SNS Group
10. Blair Spittal
Hearts' chief playmaker, he put in some dangerous crosses but took the wrong option when cutting inside after being played in by Lawrence Shankland on 34 minutes. Was unable to properly unpick the Heidenheim defence. 6 | SNS Group
11. Lawrence Shankland
Missed a very good chance just seconds in when lacking conviction with a strike straight at Kevin Muller. While he was busy enough in the build-up, that early moment set the tone for his muted evening in front of goal. 5 | SNS Group
12. Hearts substitutes
Kenneth Vargas (above) was introduced to liven up Hearts' attack but failed to do so. Cammy Devlin gave the midfield some bite, while Jorge Grant and Daniel Oyegoke also came on. | SNS Group