LOW ON PETRO

TOXIC after only 20 minutes. Absolutely venomous at full-time.

- FRASER WILSON

Hearts hit a century of games in UEFA competition but only gave their suffering fans a ton of despair as they were embarrassed by Moldovan minnows Petrocub in front of a seething home support.

In doing so, they blew a golden opportunity to become the first Jambos side since 1989 to go beyond Christmas in continental competition.

From the moment Petrocub went ahead in the 20th minute, boos rang Around the ground.

By the end it was chants of "sack the board" and "Ann Budge get to f***".

This was Hearts bottoming out all right. Throwing away a fightback that saw them lead 2-1 with 10 minutes to go through goals from teenager James Wilson and birthday boy Blair Spittal, only to concede a slack late penalty, was bad enough.

But even the 2-2 draw might have been enough to grab the last play-off spot in 24th only for Serbian side Backa Topola to stage a stunning comeback win against Noah and sneak into the final spot.

Along with Birkirkara, this was most likely Hearts' worst night in Europe.

Petrocub had only won five games in Europe before.

And with just one point from their opening five games, they had nothing to play for other than pride.

Domestically, they've literally had nothing to play for four weeks either as they've been in the midst of their winter shutdown.

Jambos boss Neil Critchley wasn't messing with his team selection, having admitted Sunday's loss to 10-man Kilmarnock "raised a red flag".