Fuming Jack Ross bemoaned his side's inability to defend from set pieces after Hibernian crashed to a 3-0 defeat to St Johnstone in the Betfred Cup semi-final.
The Easter Road boss was dismayed as first Jason Kerr, then Shaun Rooney thumped headers home to give the Perth side a commanding lead at Hampden from a pair of Craig Conway deliveries.
The men in green and white, who went into the game as hot favourites for the trophy, twice hit the woodwork in an opening 30 minutes during which they passed up a glut of chances to take the lead.
Ross' side were well-beaten by the time Conway iced Saints' victory with a late third, but the manner of the two conceded earlier rankled with an exasperated Hibs boss after the final whistle.
He also questioned his charges' "desire," admitting they were miles off the pace despite controlling possession in the early stages.
"We have defended set-pieces well this season but this evening we didn’t," he told broadcaster Premier Sports.
"That meant the half-time scoreline was probably not a fair reflection on the game.
"We had to make sure we didn’t give up similar opportunities in the second but we did and found ourselves down.
"The performance up to then had been good but after that it was nowhere near good enough.
"You need strength of character and resolve to battle through situations like that and we didn’t have that.
"There was a lot today that was about guts and heart and drive.
"These things often get overlooked in the modern game but they are important. We fell short of that."
