Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson insists their Scottish Cup tie with Hibs was lost in the final ten minutes at Tynecastle.
Jason Cummings’ fourth minute goal was enough to see off the Premiership outfit in Tuesday night’s fifth round replay.
But Neilson admits they only had themselves to blame after conceding late goals to Cummings and Paul Hanlon in the 2-2 draw nine days earlier.
Neilson said: “The game was probably lost for us in the last ten minutes at Tynecastle. We lost two goals and had to come here, we lost a poor goal to start and then had to fight back.
“We fought back well but didn’t manage to get the ball in the net.
“We’re disappointed, it was a big game for us, the club and the fans and we failed to get through but we have to accept that and take it on the chin.
“We had a good period of play in the second half and a lot of chances and we didn’t take them.
“We’re still building as a team, we’ve got a long, long way to go and I think tonight proves that.
“It was a big game for us but you have to take the highs and lows.”
Hearts goalkeeper Neil Alexander said: “I thought Hibs started the better and deservedly went one-nil up but I thought after that we dominated the game but lacked the bit of quality in the final third.
“The boys are bitterly disappointed but we’ve move on. We want to continue doing well in the league. We’ll bounce back.
”
