Having spent the vast majority of this season playing the unfamiliar role of ‘The Hunted’, the question on everyone’s lips ahead of Hearts’ trip to Livingston was how Derek McInnes’ men would fare as the ones doing the hunting for a change.
Not too well, as it turns out.
Look, this isn’t a disastrous result. One point was enough to see the Jambos return to the top of the pile after being displaced by Rangers 24 hours earlier. And who knows, it may well turn out to be one gained rather than two dropped.
After all, they needed a stoppage-time winner here in August before grinding out a 1-0 win in Edinburgh at the turn of the year. Rangers and Celtic have both made hard work of it against the league’s bottom side as well.
But make no mistake, this will feel like a huge opportunity wasted. They can have no complaints, mind you.
You simply can’t defend like they did here and expect to come away with a win. They are far better than they showed on this occasion.
Livingston’s Cristian Montano consoles Hearts striker Claudio Braga after the 2-2 draw
At what stage does this away form become a concern too?
One point from their last four fixtures on the road is not title-winning form. And with trips to Parkhead, Easter Road and perhaps Fir Park still to come after the split, they need to get it sorted pronto.
Hearts looked like a team feeling the pressure here. Next weekend’s home clash against an out-of-form Motherwell has suddenly become a must-win. Fail to do that, and you fear the walls could come caving in.
The character of these players has been heralded all season. For all their individual quality in the final third, it’s that collective ability to grind out results on rare off-days that have got them to this position.
Well, now’s the time for them to truly show whether they have what it takes to get over the line and achieve the unthinkable. No point in panicking now.
They certainly didn’t start like a team chasing silverware in West Lothian.
With their first foray into Hearts territory, Livi opened the scoring on five minutes.
A simple ball down the line found Babacar Fati in far too much space. His cross wasn’t dealt with by the Hearts defence, with Stevie May picking up the scraps 20 yards out before guiding a composed strike in to the bottom corner.
Take nothing away from the finish, but the visitors’ defending was sloppy.
They could have found themselves two down within 90 seconds. Again, failure to clear their lines resulted in Joel Nouble getting a shot away from close range. Luckily, Craig Halkett was on hand to divert it wide.
Braga celebrates putting Hearts 2-1 up with a header early in the second half at Livingston
It took a quarter of an hour for Hearts to wake up, with Claudio Braga turning sharply inside the box before firing straight down the throat of Jerome Prior.
That came shortly after the Portuguese copped an earful from team-mate Cammy Devlin after opting to stay on his feet under a clumsy challenge in the box. If you remember, he did the same in the defeat to Killie last month. Too honest for his own good, perhaps.
That flurry of activity proved to be the catalyst Hearts were looking for, and they deservedly levelled things up 24 minutes in.
Marc Leonard’s wicked delivery to the back stick was inch-perfect for Lawrence Shankland. His header into the net was emphatic.
Not a bad way to mark his first start since January.
The Hearts captain then lasered a powerful effort just wide of target moments later after collecting Braga’s intelligent knock down.
With the front two clicking and Alexandros Kyziridis causing havoc down the left-hand side, Hearts had their tails up. Unfortunately, Islam Chesnokov wasn’t quite on the same page.
The Kazakhstan international arrived at Tynecastle in January billed as the man to add dynamism to this Hearts attack on the right flank, but it’s fair to say he hasn’t quite lived up to the hype thus far.
Lewis Smith is congratulated by team-mate Cammy Kerr after scoring Livingston’s equaliser
He struggled again here. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, but there was a distinct lack of sharpness to his play.
His afternoon was summed up rather nicely midway through the first period, when his attempted pass to Leonard from a quick corner ended up at the feet of a Livi player on the halfway line. Bizarre stuff.
His inability to deal with a routine ball over the top then allowed Fati a clear sight of target on the stroke of half-time. Alexander Schwolow, to his credit, was sharp off his line to thwart the danger.
Hearts completed the turnaround five minutes into the second half. Shankland’s initial header was blocked, but the striker reacted quickly to head the rebound back across goal, where Braga was waiting to nod in.
After Chesnokov and Shankland spurned decent opportunities at one end, Hearts completely switched off at the other as Livi got back on level terms.
Cristian Montano was sent scampering on the left wing by May, and his low ball across should have been tucked away by Nouble from five yards.
Much to the big man’s relief, Lewis Smith was on hand to rattle home at the back post.
A brilliant last-ditch tackle by Cammy Devlin – how many times have we seen that this season? – prevented Smith from doubling his tally as the winger bore down on goal.
Based on this performance, it’s hard to fathom quite how Livi are so far adrift at the bottom of the table and without a win since August.
This wasn’t a backs-to-the-wall job by any stretch. In truth, you wouldn’t have known there were 51 points between the sides.
But that will be of no comfort to manager Marvin Bartley. Draws are no use to him at this stage. Barring a miracle, they’ll be playing Championship football next season.
As for Hearts – who had Leonard sent off in stoppage time for a cynical foul on Robbie Muirhead – well, they’re still in the driving seat to be Premiership champions. But only just.
Any repeat performances over the next six games will put an end to that dream.
LIVINGSTON (5-1-3-1): Prior 6; Kerr 6 (McGowan 78), Finlayson 6, Wilson 6, Montano 6, Fati 7 (Lawal 81); Sylla 6; Smith 6.5, Arfield 5 (Pittman 65), May 6 (Danso 65); Nouble 4 (Muirhead 78).
Booked: Smith, Arfield.
Manager: Marvin Bartley 6.
HEARTS (4-4-2): Schwolow 6; McEntee 6, Halkett 6, McCart 6, Kingsley 6 (Altena 84); Chesnokov 5 (Kerjota 77), Devlin 6 (Baningime 89), Leonard 6, Kyziridis 6 (Spittal 89); BRAGA 7, Shankland 6.
Booked: McEntee, Leonard.
Sent off: Leonard.
Manager: Derek McInnes 5.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.
Attendance: 8, 972.
