Claudio Braga has described Hearts' first-half performance in their Premier Sports Cup semi-final defeat to Hibs as a "complete disaster", as the Gorgie side missed out on a place in next month's final against Rangers.
The Jambos went into the match as favourites but lost 2-1, with Marink Reedijk claiming his first win as Easter Road boss. Hearts also saw Calvin Miller and Tomas Magnusson add to their growing injury list.
First Half Struggles
Braga had put Hearts ahead, but goals from Martin Boyle and Jamie McGrath turned the tie in Hibs' favour. Hearts pushed for an equaliser in the second half but could not find one.
"The first half was a complete disaster, I would say," Braga said. "It was just a bad first half, for sure. In the second half, I think we started well, but we just couldn't finish the chances we had. Speaking for myself as well, I should have scored to put us ahead. So, yeah, it was just things like that."
Belief in the Second Half
Hearts improved after the break and created several opportunities, but they were unable to convert their pressure into goals.
"We came into the second half with belief. I was pretty sure we were going to score, to be honest. We were creating a lot of chances and putting a lot of balls into the box," he added. "They were playing through our midfield and going on the counter-attack. That's where they were dangerous in the second half. But, to be honest, we had most of the possession. We also had most of the chances and spent a lot of time in their box. So, yeah, the belief was there that we were going to score. It just didn't happen."
Injury Woes
The Portuguese star admitted injuries have hit the squad hard, but he insisted they cannot be used as an excuse.
"We didn't really want to talk about that because it's hard for the guys who got injured," he said. "In a way, it can't be an excuse. It's frustrating, but it can't be an excuse. It was said that we came into the second half with a completely different mentality compared to the 15, 20 or 30 minutes of the first half. Then, yeah, we just didn't score, which was a shame."
Hearts have little time to recover, with a Conference League away game in Thun on Thursday. Braga insisted the team can respond positively.
"I think whenever we've had bad results, we've bounced back in a positive way," he said. "That's something we've been working on. Of course, we know it's not always going to be positive. So we need to forget what happened and just bounce back on Thursday. It's a big game for us. If we want to get through, we need to win some games, and that's something we need to do. It's a big stage and, of course, there's more travelling involved. But it's something that very professional players at a high level do all the time. So we are doing that, and that's something we just need to be happy about."
Playing Out of Position
Braga acknowledged that players will need to play out of position, but they will continue to give their all.
"Yeah, it's a little bit of the same, to be honest. It's just frustrating. It doesn't matter about the position in a way. Of course, it's a little bit harder because now we barely have any midfielders, even for training. That's frustrating," he confirmed. "But it's frustrating to see guys who work with us all week suddenly getting to the end of a game and already needing assistance or having to go to hospital. That's the frustrating part. We've been really unlucky with that. Overall, it's a big frustration, of course, because it's a position where we don't have that many players. But everybody who's been playing in positions that maybe aren't their natural positions has been stepping up. So we just need to trust that the next guy will step up. It's all about that. It's frustrating because of the injuries."
