Dundee boss James McPake bemoaned his side’s finishing as the Dark Blues were held to a “disappointing” 1-1 draw at Arbroath.
The visitors led 1-0 thanks to Charlie Adam’s ninth-minute penalty but let a number of chances slip by in the first half before Ricky Little’s 65th-minute header earned the Championship’s bottom side a draw.
Dundee’s failure to win gives Hearts the chance to stretch their lead at the top to 10 points today if they can get the better of Raith Rovers at Tynecastle.
For McPake, though, it was a lesson in finishing his side have to learn after Danny Mullen saw a gilt-edged chance hit the bar and Osman Sow’s low effort saved by Lichties goalie Derek Gaston.
“We created enough chances in the first half to be out of sight,” McPake said.
“I can let Osman Sow off a wee bit because it’s a fantastic save from Derek Gaston but Danny Mullen’s one has to be a goal.
“I’m disappointed in the manner of the goal we conceded.
“We have to defend our box better and for someone to head the ball four yards in front of your goal unmarked is criminal at any level of football. Set-plays are huge and we put a lot of work into them but that’s what let us down.
“We should have come away with three points.”
As well as dropping two points, McPake saw three key players limp off during the contest with Jordan McGhee, Danny Mullen and Liam Fontaine all enforced changes.
He added: “It was a huge blow and disrupted the flow of the game. To lose three key players in your system is hard but that’s football, you have to deal with that.
“We’ll assess them and get them ready for Tuesday (against Ayr).”