Milne’s booking-producing foul on Lewis Smith was the first real dent in Hearts’ defensive resolve and Stuart Armstrong’s free-kick delivery caused chaos. Dan Happe headed back across goal and Nisbet and Lewis Mayo raced in to apply the finish.
Mayo was eventually credited with the goal and Hearts’ hopes of a VAR reprieve for any infringement were dashed.
And it got worse for the visitors as Stuart Findlay fouled the running figure of Toyosi Olusanya in the box, meaning a penalty and a red card for the Hearts defender. Nisbet may have been denied the first goal but he wasn’t going to be denied again.
Now Vrancken faces the task of rousing his players for the arduous task of taking on the might of Portugal’s Benfica in Europa League qualifying, with the first leg scheduled for Thursday in Lisbon (20:00 BST).
“We give it away in five minutes,” was the Belgian’s post-match response.
“We had to be smarter. We were going in attack with too many people there instead of keeping control and managing the counter, especially when you are 1-0 ahead.
“When the next game is on again, you have to switch again because you cannot go with these feelings again in the next game. We have to be ready and fully focused again.”
