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Listen to Sportsound Hearts finish 25th, exiting Conference League on goals scored Edinburgh side needed Noah to score late equaliser against TSC to progress Platica volleys Petrocub into lead after early Hearts pressure Wilson, 17, slots equaliser with nearly half an hour remaining Spittal heads quickfire second to put hosts in lead Mudrac slots penalty to equalise after Penrice hand ball Hearts playing their 100th European tie Teenagers Tait and Wilson given Hearts start along with Shankland Defender Agyemang replaces suspended midfielder Lungu for Petrocub Nick Mc Pheat Hearts 1-1 Petrocub John Robertson Former Hearts striker on BBC Sportsound Shankland does brilliantly to hold it up, it falls for Wilson and he puts it away. They can't take their foot off the pedal now. James Wilson A big goal and a huge moment for the teenager! Lawrence Shankland takes the ball down brilliantly on his chest before he's tackled in the box, but young James Wilson is there to sweep home. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Hearts scream for penalty as Blair Spittal is brought down. The home fans and players are certain it's a spot kick. The referee isn't. Play on. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Allan Preston Former Hearts defender on BBC Sportsound Dreadful. Absolutely shocking. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Yan Dhanda's deliveries have been off all night. Another deep free-kick is shelled straight out and behind for a goal kick. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub There's been more zip and intensity from Hearts in the past few minutes. They'll need to maintain this. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub The crowd are giving their team encouragement now as a spell of pressure ends with Yan Dhanda's deflected shot dropping into the hands of the keeper. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub A brave header from Kye Rowles drops just wide of the left-hand post. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Vladimir

Ambros drives into the Hearts box, but he can't find a team-mate. The Petrocub captain has been dangerous tonight. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub It's also worth remembering that Petrocub are already eliminated. You wouldn't think that, though. They are desperate to win this. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub The corner is fired into the near post. But, again, Petrocub clear. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Yan Dhanda curls it to the back post. It's cleared from the away side before Lawrence Shankland has a strike deflected over. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Cammy Devlin is tripped near the edge of the area and Hearts have a free-kick in a dangerous spot. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Half-time change for Hearts. Blair Spittal has replaced Alan Forrest. Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Away we go again at Tynecastle. HT: Hearts 0-1 Petrocub HT: Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Allan Preston Former Hearts defender on BBC Sportsound This early in Neil Critchley's tenure, this is a massive 45 minutes for him. A result like this, fans will switch off to him, he'll be done. There's no coming back. It looks like the players are not up for this. That performance has been rubbish, absolutely rubbish. HT: Hearts 0-1 Petrocub A reminder: Petrocub have only won once in their history away from home in Europe. This would be an almighty upset. HT: Hearts 0-1 Petrocub As it stands, Neil Critchley will have won just four from 14 games in charge of Hearts if this result stays the same. Two of those came in his first two matches in charge. HT: Hearts 0-1 Petrocub Hearts have had almost 70% of the ball but just one shot on target. Hearts were 18th in the Conference League table before Victor Mudrac's penalty for Petrocub Heart of Midlothian are out of Europe after a hugely disappointing Conference League draw with Moldovan champions Petrocub at Tynecastle. Neil Critchley's side went behind to Sergiu Platica's goal and were booed off at half-time following a dismal first-half performance. Goals after the break from 17-year-old James Wilson and substitute Blair Spittal transformed the atmosphere in Gorgie, but there was a late twist. James Penrice handled on his own goal-line in an attempt to block a Petrocub shot and visiting centre-back Victor Mudrac calmly sent Craig Gordon the wrong way with the resulting penalty to level the scores. Serbian side TSC scored three goals in seven minutes to beat Noah of Armenia 4-3 and bump Hearts out of the competition's top 24 on goals scored. Both the result and performance pile further pressure on Critchley, who has now won just four of his first 14 matches in charge having succeeded Steven Naismith as head coach in October. Out of Europe and bottom of the Premiership, Hearts were booed off again at full-time by the home fans that remained, but Critchley defended his players' commitment. "The attitude wasn't a question tonight, " he said. "The work ethic was there, our intensity and aggression to play the game was there. Since I've come in, the players have given their all. We competed well tonight - we just didn't produce the quality. "We have to go again in the league, keep trying to pick up points and, if we do, that will give me the time to make the changes I think are required. " Sportsound : Hearts out of Europe after drawing with Moldovan side Petrocub More news, views & analysis on Hearts How the Conference League table stands Critchley said he was shocked by Sunday's performance at Rugby Park, where they lost to a Kilmarnock side who played 90 minutes with 10 players, but this was more of the same against a side they were heavy favourites to beat. Cammy Devlin inexplicably gave the ball away in the opening couple of minutes to set the tone and that nervousness spread across the pitch and into the stands. Petrocub's first goal - Platica poking home Vladimir Ambros' cross - turned nervousness into anger and any mistake for the rest of the opening 45 was met with whistles and groans. Hearts' midfield was non-existent, their lack of pace meaning they struggled to stretch the game, with only left-back Penrice taking the game to Petrocub. Winger Alan Forrest was hooked at the interval for Spittal, a change that gave the hosts some much-needed impetus. Wilson found the bottom corner after Lawrence Shankland was tackled in the opposition box and, six minutes later, Spittal coolly headed back across goal to put Hearts in front. However, Petrocub continued to pose a threat on the break despite their lack of possession and Mudrak's penalty levelled the scores after Penrice's handball seven minutes from time. There is a notable lack of leaders in this Hearts side. No-one stood up and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck when needed - and the game fizzled out. Scotland striker Shankland is a shadow of the player he was last season and, while Gordon has been a magnificent servant, the goalkeeper came off his line unnecessarily for the first goal and his poor distribution only added to the unrest in the stands. At best, Hearts have stood still under Critchley's leadership. A cynic would say they have gone backwards. A win for Hearts would have kept them in European competition after Christmas for the first time in 35 years, a glimmer of hope in what has been an awful season to date, but Mudrac's spot-kick and TSC's victory snuffed that out. If things are to turn around, they need a seriously good January transfer window to plug the gaps in their unbalanced squad. Otherwise, it's difficult to see how this changes for the better. This video can not be played Critchley bemoans Hearts' lack of "quality" after European exit Hearts head coach Neil Critchley told BBC Scotland: "I'm just really down, because I knew the importance of this game for the football club. It's hugely disappointing - a tough one to take. "At 2-1, the game's in our control and then we lacked the nous and experience on the pitch to see us through. "We should have won the game - and we didn't. We have to accept the criticism that comes our way because of that. We didn't do enough. "This is a results business. Managers understand the consequences if you keep losing games of football. We haven't lost tonight. It feels like a loss though. " Last Updated 19th December 2024 at 22: 29 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. 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