“I think what you see is our immaturity in the final third. We had four or five really good situations, we either pick the wrong option or overhit a pass or don't get the finish. In those moments we must hit the target, make the goalie make a save or score a goal. That’s the biggest frustration for me because we got good opportunities we didn’t take and the goals we concede are cheap.”
It’s hard to argue with Steven Naismith’s post-match assessment from Sunday's 2-0 loss in the Scottish Cup semi-final to Rangers. There’s no getting away from the disastrous start and the soft goal that was surrendered after just five minutes had elapsed at Hampden Park, leaving the men in maroon on the back foot from pretty much the get-go. But Cyriel Dessers’ early intervention wasn’t why Heart of Midlothian failed to progress to next month’s Scottish Cup final.
The Nigeria internationalist would strike again with 12 minutes remaining to all but seal the victory for Rangers, but the truth is that this game was there for the taking for Hearts. This wasn’t like the 5-0 drubbing at Ibrox last month, where Philippe Clement’s on-form side swept Hearts away. This wasn’t like the 3-1 defeat in the League Cup semi-finals, where Hearts bowed out of the competition with a whimper having barely laid a glove on their opponents. No, this was an altogether different game.
Naismith is right: Hearts had the opportunities to draw themselves level, only for the team’s decision-making in the final third to let them down. In the hour or so when they were trailing 1-0, the chances were there. But Hearts continually let Rangers off the hook.
Below is an early example. Nathaniel Atkinson has the ball, and Hearts are in a great position. Kenneth Vargas is waving his arms in the air, frantically trying to get the Aussie’s attention, and with good reason: Rangers are a man short at the back. Just look at how much space Cammy Devlin is in. If Hearts can switch the play, they have the numerical advantage – and that’s exactly what Atkinson does.
Devlin gets the ball, and Rabbi Matondo rushes out to close him down. The Rangers winger is caught in no man’s land and Vargas is the obvious pass. The highlighted area shows the space Vargas has to play in, and just take a look at Jorge Grant’s positioning too. If Devlin plays the ball outside of Matondo, Grant is likely free in the middle for the cut-back. The Englishman is ahead of Dujon Sterling and there’s no way James Tavernier can recover either. The dotted lines show the passing move that was on – Hearts are only two passes away from an excellent opportunity.
Instead, Devlin hesitates and tries to play the ball inside Matondo – and it’s easily intercepted.
Ten minutes pass and another opportunity rears its head when Vargas wins the ball in the centre. His options aren’t quite as obvious as before, but the right-hand side of the pitch is completely empty, and here comes Atkinson steaming forward to occupy the space. Devlin has noticed and gives Vargas a shout.
Instead, somewhat mystifyingly, Vargas elects for a 40-yard shot at goal. Unsurprisingly, it rolls harmlessly wide of Jack Butland’s right post.
Vargas didn’t deny his side a clear goal-scoring opportunity, but his long-range shot was one of the more egregious examples of poor decision-making from Hearts in the final third. Barely a minute later, though, Alan Forrest wins the ball back in a similar position after intercepting a slack John Lundstram pass, but under very different circumstances.
The screenshot above shows where everyone is when Forrest first makes contact with the ball. Lundstram moves to close the winger down, but just look at how many bodies Hearts have forward. Shankland and Grant are both ahead of the ball, while Devlin and Vargas are in support to the right.
Forrest moves forward and our next still comes from his next touch of the ball. The 27-year-old has an abundance of options. He can try to slip through Shankland, but this would be risky as Lundstram can potentially stick a leg out to intercept. He could, however, play a simple pass forward for Grant to slip in Shankland. Or Forrest could even slide it over to Devlin, who has another two team-mates supporting him and only John Souttar to beat. Instead, Forrest gets his head down and drives into the box.
To his credit, Forrest carries the ball into a dangerous area. It could have been a simpler chance, but at least the attacking move is still alive. When he takes his first touch inside the area, Shankland is calling for the cut-back. It’s a bit congested, but it’s worth a go. Grant and Vargas are also following in – if Forrest cuts it back, there are three players queuing up. But he decides to carry on dribbling.
By the time Forrest is preparing to pull the trigger, the angle is incredibly narrow and his chances of beating Butland are low. But, again, look at Vargas unmarked at the back post. One chipped cross and the Costa Rican surely can’t miss – but Forrest elects to go it alone.
READ MORE: Hearts pay for wastefulness and worst start in Scottish Cup semi-final defeat
Naismith changed the team’s shape to a 4-4-2 at the interval, and Hearts started finding some joy down the right-hand side. Souttar wasn’t looking especially comfortable out wide, and the centre-back twice in quick succession found himself caught out at the back. Hearts let him away with it both times.
Take a look at the picture above. Souttar hasn’t got the ball under control so Vargas goes haring after him and is nipping at his heels. Further inside, Forrest sees what’s about to happen and gambles as he darts forward.
Vargas robs Souttar of the ball and Forrest is completely unmarked in the middle. If the Costa Rican plays it early then Forrest is surely in. This time, though, it’s Vargas who has the blinkers on and isn’t looking up. Instead of passing it, he drives into the box.
Forrest is still lurking at the back post and Vargas tries to find him, but it’s too late now. The same gaps are no longer there, and James Tavernier is able to easily clear the danger.
A few minutes pass and another opportunity presents itself. This time it’s Forrest putting in the hard yards, dispossessing Souttar and nudging the ball into Grant’s path. Hearts are now 3v2, and Rangers are in an awful lot of trouble.
Grant advances with the ball and Shankland has taken up a great position in between Tavernier and Leon Balogun. If Grant plays it early, the Hearts skipper has a one-on-one. And he has a happy habit of sticking those away.
But what does Grant do? He decides against playing in Hearts’ most lethal goal scorer since John Robertson, instead cutting it back for Vargas. The ball does reach the winger, but only just – and by the time it has, the Rangers defence have recovered and the chance has evaporated.
READ MORE: Steven Naismith rues Hearts missed opportunity and explains Alex Cochrane decision
Unfortunately for Hearts, that wouldn’t be the last time a promising counter-attack didn’t even lead to a shot on goal. About 10 minutes pass, then Barrie McKay gets the ball and launches a counter of his own. Shankland, Vargas and Devlin are all up in support and Hearts have the numbers. The remaining Rangers defenders sprint back in retreat, allowing McKay to advance unopposed.
McKay continues carrying the ball forward and it soon becomes very obvious what’s about to happen. Lundstram has to step out and close McKay down at some point or another. When he does, Vargas becomes completely unmarked.
That’s exactly what happens, of course, and McKay’s slipped pass through to Vargas has a nice weight to it.
The next picture shows the exact moment Vargas takes his first touch, and it’s clear what he has to do. Just hit it. Test Butland. Have a go. Surely Vargas will leather it towards the back post. After all, this is the man that was having 40-yard pot-shots earlier on. He’s clearly keen to get his shots away.
But what does Vargas do? He takes another touch, gets chased into a corner by Lundstram, and the whole move comes to nothing.
Dessers would make it 2-0 a few minutes later, and that would be that. Hearts couldn’t complain, either. They had more than enough opportunities to restore parity and make a game of it, but the attackers consistently picked the wrong option. Time and again, Rangers were let off the hook – and Hearts paid the price.
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