Neil Critchley felt Hearts should have notched up a “routine” win over Motherwell instead of relying on stoppage-time heroics from goalkeeper Craig Gordon to secure a much-needed 1-0 victory.
The Jambos took an early lead through Musa Drammeh and dominated most of the match but were unable to add to their advantage and kill the game off.
Just four days after squandering a 2-0 lead at Ross County in stoppage time, Critchley feared more last-gasp despair as Gordon was called upon to make two excellent saves to deny Well pair Moses Ebiye and Jack Vale in the dying moments.
Hearts remain second bottom of the William Hill Premiership but are now five points clear of last-placed St Johnstone and within seven points of Motherwell and St Mirren in the top six.
“Nearly the same (as Ross County), wasn’t it? They’re going to give me a heart attack, the group,” smiled Critchley.
“The game should be over, we should have been comfortable, and if not for Craigie producing two fantastic saves, we’d have had a Ross County situation again.
“I was delighted with the performance for 75-80 minutes, I thought we were excellent, had total control of the game, dominated the ball, produced good chances, but our inability to score nearly cost us, and it always puts pressure on your defence because you’ve got to keep a clean sheet to win the game.
“We shouldn’t have been in that situation, really. We had good chances, clear chances. Until we find that clinical edge to our game, we’re going to be scrapping for those three points. It should have been a routine win today, in all honesty.”
Critchley revealed that Colombian left-back Andres Salazar is returning to parent club Atletico Nacional after having his season-long loan cut short, and that captain Lawrence Shankland is facing several weeks on the sidelines with a calf strain.
“I wouldn’t say it’ll be long-term, but it’s not going to be one week either, somewhere in between, but he’s not going to appear for the next couple of weeks,” said Critchley.
Well boss Stuart Kettlewell, who confirmed that key midfielder Lennon Miller is facing six to eight weeks out with an ankle injury, was deflated by his team’s display.
“The scoreline flattered us,” he said. “I just didn’t think we were at the races from the first minute. It probably took us 81 minutes to make one pass with penetration and then the pitch started to open up, and that’s never going to be enough when you come here.
“The fact that we made three changes at half-time, the fact that we had four systems that we tried to deploy throughout the day will indicate to you that I wasn’t happy with what I was seeing, and that’s not been like us.
“We’re not going to paper over the cracks by saying that Craig Gordon makes two absolutely brilliant stops to keep us out and thinking that we should have had a draw because we shouldn’t have. Hearts should have been out of sight.”
