Hamilton Accies boss John Rankin says his side caused Hearts problems but didn’t do enough in the final third.
Goals from Stephen Humphrys and Cammy Devlin eased the Tynecastle club through to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals at Hamilton’s expense, but Rankin says there were plenty of positives,.
And he says the defeat won’t dent Hamilton’s confidence as they bid to avoid relegation from the Championship.
He told BBC Scotland: “I thought in the first half we were a wee bit passive, didn’t really lay a glove on Hearts and didn’t attack enough.
“But I was really proud of them in the second half. We made a change not long into the second half [Chris McGinn for Dylan Stephenson] and I thought we were a real threat after that.
“I don’t think we could have opened up at the beginning after playing 120 minutes on Tuesday night, and I think you could see that, the players were beginning to tire.
“But I thought in the first half the shape was really good. We got breached once and it causes the goal.
“But I thought in the second half we caused some real problems and you could see at 1-0 for a period of time we were on the front foot.
“We lacked that wee bit of quality in the final third at times, whether it be to shoot, and when you procrastinate over what you’re going to do with the ball, that moment goes against top teams.
“I was disappointed in the final third, but defensively and organised we were really good.”
Defeat ends Hamilton’s run of six games unbeaten in all competitions, but Rankin says they will get back up to form quickly, following their cup exit.
Hamilton have back-to-back clashes against Inverness, up in the Highlands and back at New Douglas Park, in the next couple of weeks, and Rankin says he knows what needs to be done to give them the best chance of taking points.
He said: “That won’t dent the confidence. Not tonight.
“The players have had a tough week, they’ve picked up two good results.
“I was really pleased with the second half performance and that won’t dent the confidence. They’re ready to go.
“Obviously that stops the run of games that we were on, but we need to get back up, ready to go, and hopefully pick up three points next Saturday.
“I felt defensively we looked really good; attacking we lacked that little bit in the final third.
“It’s clear to see what we need to strengthen in the next couple of days or the next couple of weeks, and we’re going to try as much as we can to do that.
“If we can it will help our team quite a good bit, to be honest.”
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