Scottish Cup: Joy, relief and despair as fans react to semi-finals

Hearts fans were left lamenting red cards for Michael Steinwender and Cammy Devlin but are divided about whether head coach Neil Critchley should carry the can for their side falling short against Aberdeen on top of their failure to qualify for the league’s top six.

James: Same old at Hearts against a poor Aberdeen side. Lots of possession, no goal threat. One shot on target with 11 men. The three strikers up front has never worked. Two strikers off at half-time with two centre-backs on. What shape is that? Especially when our slowest striker is left on – sheer lunacy. The first red card, okay – the second was ridiculous. Now we’re staring at a relegation fight. [Head coach] Neil Critchley and [chief executive] Andrew McKinlay have to go. When was the last manager with a winning record appointed at Hearts?

Tam: This game just summed up our entire season. The big moment fell to Aberdeen, who took advantage of some horrific refereeing. I couldn’t fault the effort of the Hearts players, but in these tight games, you sometimes need a touch of good luck and we have had none of that this season. So the rebuilding starts now and here’s to a better season next time.

Peter: We were full of determination and no lack of effort. Poor judgement by Michael Steinwender cost us dearly – it’s better to lose a goal than be down to 10 men. Cammy Devlin should not have been booked. Had the opponent not put his leg in, Cammy strikes the ball, VAR should have intervened. Critchley made good decisions. No blame falls his way this time.

Michael: Inevitable baying for the manager’s head will come, completely ignoring the fact that we had two points and were bottom of the league when he took over. We sacked Steven Naismith weeks into his new deal, costing us a huge amount, and Critchley’s contract runs until 2027. We can’t waste money on sacking another manager with years left on his deal. He’s had one transfer window to fix all of the problems we have and it’s not his fault that the team – third in the league in expected goals rankings – can’t score goals. A pacey goalscorer is badly needed in the summer, as well as a halfway decent creative midfielder, and the eternal search for a right back continues.

Mark: A good game to watch with a lot of positives, but in reality it sums our season up. It’s time to rebuild and try a few different things for the remaining games of the season. Critchley has steadied the ship from the shambles he inherited, but ultimately teams go through rough patches and that’s what happened to Hearts this season. A few players to move on, possibly a change in coaching staff and a few good signings and we should be back on track.

Alexander: I feel for Critchley, but he was never the right appointment. He lacks charisma and a big-game mentality. Hearts have the third biggest budget in the league. Could anyone honestly say we have the third best manager in the league?