Hearts Captain Shankland Accepts Responsibility for European Knockout

Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland stated that he and his teammates “only have ourselves to blame” following their elimination from European competition, which occurred while the team was positioned at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. Securing a victory against Moldovan opponent Petrocub would have ensured progression to the Conference League knockout stages. However, a disappointing 2-2 draw resulted in Neil Critchley’s squad being knocked out of the tournament. “We only have ourselves to blame,” Shankland informed TNT Sports. He further elaborated, “They were solid defensively, they were hard to break down.” Shankland continued, “They managed to hit us with a counter in the first half and get themselves ahead which again makes it difficult because they had 11 bodies behind the ball.” The atmosphere at Tynecastle became hostile immediately after Hearts conceded the first goal, making it challenging for the players to rally fan support for the remainder of the match. “I thought the boys showed good character because it got a bit hostile out there from early doors in the game and we had to kind of stand up to it,” Shankland commented. He added, “We managed to get ourselves back into it and get ahead, and from that position, we should really go and win the game.” Shankland concluded his remarks by stating, “I don’t feel like the boys didn’t try or work hard, it was just a lack of quality in the final third because we got in there enough.”