McInnes Admits Rangers Second Best in Draw at Tynecastle

Rangers manager Derek McInnes conceded his team were outplayed by Hearts on his return to Tynecastle, despite securing a late draw in a match where he lamented defensive errors.

Kevin Kelsy had given Rangers a first-half lead, but Hearts responded with goals from Claudio Braga and Calvin Miller in the second half. A late header from Olwethu Makhanya ultimately earned Rangers a point, a result that took on added significance as Celtic also dropped points.

McInnes, who faced a hostile reception at his former club, admitted that Rangers failed to show enough authority in the game. "I think when you go in front at a place like this, we’re disappointed we never showed more authority in the game," he stated. "I don’t think you expect to have control when you come to Tynecastle. We’ve got a very young forward line and I don’t think we secured the ball enough."

He further elaborated on Hearts' effectiveness, noting their control in periods of the match. "I thought Hearts, certainly for that 15-minute period before half-time, kept picking up a lot of the ball and feeding their wider players and forward players. I thought their forward players looked after the ball a lot better. We were giving away umpteen free-kicks and playing with fire, to be honest."

McInnes credited Hearts' performance, stating, "You’ve got to credit Hearts. I think they had the better players. I think they had three or four real top performers and players who played really well, I have to be honest with that."

Describing the start of the second half as "inexplicable," McInnes highlighted how a cheaply conceded free-kick led to Braga's goal. "We lose another free-kick, given away cheaply, and we get punished this time for it with Claudio’s goal. They’re capable of punishing you and they were good enough to punish us. We never defended with any real certainty tonight and we needed to in those moments. Ultimately, we weren’t good enough to win the game."

There appeared to be a tense exchange between McInnes and Hearts manager Wouter Vrancken at the final whistle, though both managers downplayed the incident. "I think he was just thanking me for how grateful he is for leaving him such a strong squad here," McInnes said.

Vrancken, meanwhile, praised his team's effort, particularly given an ongoing injury crisis that has left Hearts without eight key players. "When you concede a goal so late, you’re always disappointed because I think we deserved the three points," Vrancken commented. "It would have been a great win, but it was still a massive performance from us. I am really proud of what the players are doing at the moment."