HEARTS’ inevitable procession
to the Championship title should be an emphatic march to glory, given their undeniable squad depth, top-flight pedigree
and attacking quality.
Instead, it is becoming a rather
unsatisfying slog, certainly in the eyes of disgruntled fans who – unable to take their place in the stadium – vented their spleens online after a second successive draw.
Recent weeks have seen
underwhelming 1-0 victories over Dunfermline and Ayr,
followed by a dismal 1-1 draw against Queen of the South. Patience has been tested. This was little better.
It ultimately required Jamie Walker’s 50th goal for the club to bail them out after Craig McGuffie gave gutsy Morton the lead.
The draw, meanwhile, allowed Dunfermline to cut the gap at the summit to 11 points.
“We only have ourselves to blame,” said boss Robbie
Neilson, who watched the encounter unfold from the Wheatfield Stand as he served the first a two-match touchline ban.
“Football is about putting the ball in the net and we didn’t do it and then we fell behind. So we need to be better – and we know that.”
Defender Mihai Popescu was the worst culprit, somehow firing over the bar from six yards after being teed up by Gary Mackay-Steven.
Aaron McEneff, Michael Smith, Stephen Kingsley and Andy Halliday all fluffed their lines when presented with passable opportunities to break the deadlock before a neat back-heel from Liam Boyce looped onto the top of the cross-bar.
However, 10 minutes into the second half Morton landed a shuddering sucker-punch when McGuffie fired home a clinical low drive from 18 yards.
Hearts, in need of inspiration, found it among their embarrassment of riches on the bench. Armand Gnanduillet surged down the left flank and produced a pin-point cross for fellow second-half substitute Walker, whose powerful header left Aidan McAdams clawing at thin air.
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