NEIL Critchley has revealed the reason for the Hearts’ players angry reaction to the final whistle in their narrow defeat to Rangers at Ibrox this evening and admitted he was unhappy with the injury-time which was added on at the end of the match.
The Tynecastle club competed well with their hosts throughout the William Hill Premiership encounter and were unfortunate to be on the receiving end of a 1-0 loss at the end of the 90 minutes.
Craig Gordon and his team mates protested to referee Matthew MacDermid when the match was finished because they felt that Kieron Dowell had handled a Blair Spittal shot.
The incident occurred at the edge of the Rangers penalty box and the Hearts players appealed to MacDermid for a spot kick and a VAR check.
Television replays showed that Dowell had been just outside the area – but Critchley felt the visitors could have been awarded a free-kick.
Gordon, Lawrence Shankland and Frankie Kent were incensed that MacDermid brought an end to proceedings and surrounded the match official to vent their frustration.
“I've not seen it back yet and I don't know if it was in the box or not in the box,” said Critchley. “I don't know. Maybe we would have got a free kick.
“We were pushing right to the end. The players gave everything. They went right to the end. We were nearly there. Something nearly dropped for us. We just needed that little bit of luck. Sometimes you need a little bit of luck as well. We've probably not had that in the last couple of games as well.
“I thought it [the injury-time which was added on] should have been longer than three minutes. We had seven minutes at St. Johnstone last week and I don't remember the physios coming on or anything. Three minutes? I don't know where that's come from. It should have been longer in my opinion.”
He added: “We didn't just sit back and sit on the ropes for 12 rounds. We wanted to play on the front foot and try and dominate the game. I thought we've contributed to a good game of football.
“We pushed them right back and that's how we train. That's our belief every day and our mentality. I don't want us to be a nearly team. I don't want that feeling."
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