Alan Forrest explains why Hearts defeat 'hurts that wee bit more'

Steven Naismith’s men were slow out of the traps in Dingwall and found themselves trailing at the break after Toby Sibbick tried to bring down a loose ball inside his own box, only to be robbed by Simon Murray and for the striker to poke the ball home at the near post.

Hearts regrouped at the interval as Naismith changed the team’s shape to a 3-5-2, but the visitors were dealt a second sucker-punch minutes after the restart when Murray slammed home his second of the afternoon.

The men in maroon still threatened a comeback and looked to have halved the arrears when Stephen Kingsley curled in a free-kick from 20 yards, only for the goal to be chopped off for offside. Referee Grant Irvine was invited over to the pitchside monitor for another look and Lawrence Shankland was adjudged to have blocked goalkeeper George Wickens' line of sight.

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The disallowed goal disrupted the momentum that Hearts had been building and although Yutaro Oda pulled one back in stoppage time, it was too little, too late as Naismith’s side fell to a second defeat in their last 17 games in all competitions.

Forrest, understandably, is keen to move on. Hearts had their chances – both Forrest and Kenneth Vargas rattled the woodwork as the visitors searched desperately for a foothold in the game – and the attacker chalks this one up to the fine margins that so often prove to be the decisive factor. In a season where Hearts’ away form has vastly improved, he expects that this trip to the Highlands will be the exception and not the rule.

“You come away frustrated because we feel as if we've done okay,” he said. “I think we have played a lot better this season, I don't think it was our worst performance. We were growing into the game and we lose a cheap first goal, which wasn't good enough from everyone.

“It was kind of strange that we lost a couple of goals when we have been more solid in past games. It is one where I don't know if we did enough to win the game but maybe a draw is a fair result. We just need to dust ourselves off and pick ourselves back up for the game after the break.

“We had a few half-chances, a few breaks of the ball and feel on another day we score, and dominate the game and it is comfy - but it wasn't meant to be. Even at half-time going in 1-0 down, everyone believed we could turn it around.

“We lose the goal soon after the second and it is a mountain to climb. Again, I still thought we huffed and puffed a bit and on another day you get a result.”

Forrest makes a fair point. Hearts were by no means at their best on Saturday, but this was only their third league defeat away from home since the end of October. Most of the team’s performances on the road have been tight and stuffy affairs, but they usually end with the men in maroon returning to Gorgie with three points in tow.

The 27-year-old remains convinced that one poor result won’t buck that particular trend, nor the team’s impressive form over the past few months. He regards Saturday’s loss as a blip in an otherwise impressive run, and has one chief frustration: due to the international break, Hearts have to wait a fortnight until they can prove it.

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A home fixture with Derek McInnes’ Kilmarnock, who cut the gap to 11 points with a 5-2 win over St Mirren, awaits. The stakes couldn’t be clearer: win, and all but sew up third; or lose, and invite pressure from below heading into the business end of the season.

“I don't think we can come away from what we've done,” Forrest reasoned. “What we've done is solid. You don't just become a bad team over one result. We just need to look at it... no game is easy but it is one we fancied to win.

“We look at it, reassess it but I don't think we can get too down. We still have a gap [in third] and now Killie won and they are in fourth spot. I don't think we can get too down and make sure we are ready for Killie.

“Because we have shown over this period that we've been coming to these places and winning, we know we can do it. At the same time, you are not going to win every game.

“We've already been up here at the start of the season and won, so we know we can win it, which is the frustration for us because of what we put into the game. Maybe we deserved something and on another day could have got the win.

“You want a win [before the international break] and it changes everything where the mood is high. Now, because you have got beat, you need to wait a couple of weeks for your next game. It hurts that wee bit more. At the same time, we need to reflect on it and look over the way we played - and make sure we are ready for Killie.”