Hearts suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of a Liverpool XI at the Oval in Belfast.

Kris Petersen proved to be the difference between the two sides in the pre-season friendly with the only goal of the game.

The Edinburgh side started the match brightly, with Callum Paterson and Danny Wilson both threatening with early chances.

Neither side could make the breakthrough in the first half and the game remained deadlocked at the break.

Liverpool thought they had taken the lead after the restart when a Brad Smith header appeared to cross the line but no goal was given.

However, the opener came with 64 minutes on the clock when Petersen slotted past Jamie MacDonald to hand the Reds the lead.

The referee then demanded Ryan Stevenson be subbed after the Hearts man reacted badly to a Jordan Rossiter challenge.

And there was worse to come for the Jambos as Callum Tapping was stretchered off with a knee injury late on.