Hearts missed out on being seeded for the last 16 of the Premier Sports Cup by one goal and were handed a trip to Celtic as a consequence.
And Robbie Neilson joked it would have been better if the game was cancelled.
The 3-0 win awarded to St Mirren after their game against Dumbarton was awarded to them due to Covid issues meant the Buddies were seeded at the Jambos’ expense.
Jamie Walker’s winner off the bench against Inverness CT wasn’t enough for Neilson’s men to avoid the big boys, and they’ll now take on Ange Postecolgou ’s team twice in two weeks with Celtic at Tynecastle for their Premiership opener on Saturday.
"We knew before what it was going to be like,” said Neilson. It would have been better if the game had been cancelled today! We won all our games and haven't conceded a goal. Yes we'd have liked to have scored loads of goals but teams make it difficult and sit in.
"I don't know how they look at it and what else they could do. If it was a 1-0 victory then teams might say they could have won the game three or four nil. It's just part parcel and we need to deal with it.
"We didn't get seeded but we won four out of four. The nature of this season, teams will get 3-0 victories for games getting postponed which is always going to make it difficult. I can't really ask any more of the players. We created loads of chances and were sound defensively. We just didn't have that final moment.
"All eyes now are on Saturday. It's huge start to the season for us”
Given the sweltering heat, it was perhaps no surprise that the tempo wasn’t exactly 100 miler-per-hour,
Youngster Finlay Pollock tried to make it two senior career goals in two games after notching in midweek, but Mark Ridgers was able to hold his effort.
Craig Gordon then dealt with a Reece McAlear free-kick before a slack Wallace Duffy pass gave Armand Gnanduillet a good chance to open the scoring.
The big striker drilled a low effort across goal but Ridgers reacted well to save with his feet.
Spectacular Gordon saves don’t really raise eyebrows at Tynecastle any more given he’s been making them regularly for years.
And he was at it again when he somehow managed to get a fingertip onto Tom Walsh’s close range volley to divert it over the bar.
Pollock then thought he’d broken the deadlock right on half-time butr Ridgers produced a stunning reaction save.
Ridgers picked up where he left off after the break, saving from Mackay-Steven before Hearts hoit the post twice from the resulting corner.
First Gnanduillet’s low effort came back off the upright before Pollock did the exact same thing with the rebound.
Hearts finally made the breakthrough with 15 to play. Gnanduillet’s flick on set Boyce and Walker away. The striker looked up and played in the Hearts sub, who sent a brilliant first-time strike low past Ridgers from 20 yards before the ‘keeper had a chance to move.
Walker could have had a hat-trick but for Ridgers, testing him with a strike from the edge of the box before seeing a near-post effort saved.
He was denied yet again after a fantastic move between Euan Henderson and gary Mackay-Steven, only for Ridgers to gather the ball after it squirmed underneath him but before it crossed the line.
Walker was in thick of it again as ICT were reduced to ten men, Gardyne seeing a straight red for a wild challenge on the Hearts number seven.
