Hearts star in candid Hampden confession as he insists mistake 'killed' semi-final chances

Macaulay Tait has held his hands up to a Hearts error he feels ended their Scottish Cup chances.

The midfielder lost the ball to John Lundstram as Cyriel Dessers scored the winner in a semi-final clash between Rangers and Steven Naismith’s side. Dessers had scored in the first half as a 2-0 loss put Hearts chances of a first Scottish Cup trophy since 2012 to bed.

Now the team look ahead to five more Premiership matches, with victory at Kilmarnock this weekend enough to confirm third spot. That would ensure European group stage football in either the Europa League or Europa Conference League after Celtic beat Aberdeen in the other semi-final clash over the weekend.

Tait was consoled by his teammates post-match on the Hampden turf but the impressive youngster is shouldering blame for that goal himself. He said post-match: “It was disappointing. It was my mistake that probably killed the tie, which is a frustrating one. It was my first competitive game at Hampden.

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“I played in the Youth Cup final a few years ago. It was a good occasion and it was great to see so many Hearts fans there as well. But the result was disappointing. I’ve been in the Hearts end as a fan in these types of games quite a lot.

“They have been mixed games but this was a frustrating one. I don’t remember much of the Cup Final in 2012 but I remember it being a really good win. I’m disappointed that we didn’t win but it’s another milestone ticked off. My family were in the crowd, which was a nice moment. It has taken a lot of work to get to here. It just makes me more motivated to come back next season and try to make amends.

“We competed well. We conceded the early goal but we reacted well and after that we gave them a game. We had a few good chances and half-chances that we probably could have done better with It was another tough game and they’re a good side but we showed that we’re closing the gap compared to the other semi-final.”