Hearts reaction: Critchley's disappointment, Schmidt's relief and where club is in Conference League

He felt the hosts were the better team for long periods but suffered for their failure to convert several good chances, particularly in the opening half.

Lawrence Shankland was the chief culprit, spurning a glaring opportunity to put Hearts ahead after a mistake in the German defence after just three minutes. The misfiring striker also put a chance over with nine minutes left.

Heidenheim struck twice in the second half through headers from Sirlord Conteh and substitute Jan Schoppner to secure all three points. They are the first German side to win a competitive game at Tynecastle since SV Hamburg in 1976.

Hearts now slip to 12th in the Conference League with three games left as they seek to secure European involvement past Christmas for the first time since 1989. They remain on course for at least a place in the play-off knockout round.

“You have to score when you're on top,” said Critchley. “You have to take those chances. We weren't clinical in front of goal. And then we've got punished by two real moments of quality, the first goal in particular.

“I'm disappointed with the result but not the performance. I thought we played just equally as well tonight as we did against Omonoia. We just didn't score when we were on top.

“And if we had taken our chances, then I think the game was there for us to win. But I thought the attitude of the players and mentality was good. We went right to the end. I'm just disappointed.

“Sometimes you don't get what you deserve. And I don't think we got what we deserved tonight. The goals have not come through them playing through us and gaining control and pushing us back in their own half,” he added.

“The first goal was just a moment of real quality, a counter-attack. It has just dropped and the lad's broken and he's crossed it and (the striker’s) running. It was a great goal. It was nothing to do with them gaining control of the game. It was a counter-attack moment.

“I thought we were excellent after that. I thought our response was really good. I felt we deserved more from the game. We played against good opposition. We went toe-to-toe in a real good competitive game, a European game in a good atmosphere. And unfortunately, we've come out the wrong side tonight.”

Heidenheim manager Frank Schmidt said he was relieved to have gone in at half-time still at 0-0. “It was a difficult first half, so well done to Hearts for that," he said. “They made it really difficult for us. Hearts played very well. We couldn’t hold onto the ball and we were late to second balls.

“They really put us under pressure. I also think after a couple of less-than-ideal results, our confidence was not so high. We managed to get more involved in the second half, we were defensively strong and more clinical in attack. It was good play for us to make it 1-0 and after the second goal, the game was pretty much over.”