Hearts interim manager Steven Naismith will take positives from defeat against Celtic ahead of their “two biggest games of the season”.
Hearts were the better side until Alex Cochrane was sent off near the end of a goalless first half and Celtic went on to win 2-0.
Naismith disagreed with the red card and felt his team deserved more from the game, which leaves them in fourth place in the cinch Premiership, five points behind Aberdeen and one ahead of Hibernian.
Hearts now travel to Paisley to face sixth-placed St Mirren on Saturday before hosting the Dons the following weekend.
Naismith said: “When we look back, there will probably be a lot of positives for us.
“The next two games are the biggest games of the season and they will define where we finish.
“This game was always going to be our most difficult challenge. We acquitted ourselves well.
“Before the game I said we would be aggressive, we would have our moments in attack. We did that.
“We were brave defensively against the best forwards in the league and they never created too many chances until the red card.
“They made their moments count in the second half but there’s lots we can take positives from.
“We have said consistently there’s a good group of players here who want to do better, who want to improve and who want to be successful. The last two performances, you can see that’s definitely the case.”
Standard set for Clement as Rangers tee up Old Firm final clash
Phillipe Clement said Rangers' performance against Motherwell must serve as a reference for the rest of their season after they teed up a Scottish League Cup final clash with Celtic.
Rangers fought back for a 2-1 victory on Sunday, with Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami on target one day after Celtic trounced Aberdeen 6-0 in the first semi-final.
Dessers converted Connor Barron's cross to level things up in the 49th minute, then Bajrami saw his strike deflect home nine minutes from time to ease the pressure on Clement.
The Gers have endured a difficult Premiership season to date and trail rivals Celtic, who they will face in the League Cup final on December 15, by nine points in the table.
Clement, however, believes they can achieve big things if they replicate the performance they produced at Hampden Park on a regular basis.
"We can go where we want to be, which is the final," he told Premier Sports.
"We had that amazing feeling together with the fans last season and we can battle for that again.
"This needs to be also a reference game for this squad, for this new squad.
"To do what we've been doing a lot last season, to dig in and in every situation to keep our belief, to keep on going, to keep on fighting and to break the wall if we go behind...
"This can be a massive game at the end of the season to have this one as a reference. I want to see, every three days, this mentality."
Aberdeen deliver statement win over Rangers to keep pace with Celtic
Shayden Morris' winner helped Aberdeen defeat Rangers 2-1 to maintain their unbeaten run and stay level on points with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts took the lead through Nicky Devlin after 31 minutes at the Pittodrie Stadium before Nedim Bajrami's individual brilliance saw Rangers back on level terms 18 minutes into the second half.
Celebrations soon resumed in Aberdeen as substitute Morris crashed in the winner 11 minutes later.
Victory sees Jimmy Thelin's side move nine points clear of Rangers, who sit in third, as they remain level on 28 points with Celtic, only behind on goal difference.
Celtic continued to add to that superior goal difference with a 2-0 win over Dundee at Celtic Park.
Two goals inside 10 minutes in the second half from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels gave them a routine victory to keep them unbeaten at the top of the table.
Celtic return to Premiership summit, Rangers edge past St Mirren
Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership table with a routine 3-0 victory at Motherwell, putting them back above Aberdeen on goal difference.
Brendan Rodgers' Bhoys had been knocked off the summit by the Dons' 1-0 win over Dundee United on Saturday, but they responded by easing to their eighth victory in nine games at Fir Park.
Luke McCowan steered in the opener on his first Celtic start, after Lennon Miller had twice struck the woodwork in the early stages.
Stand-in captain Alistair Johnston then ghosted in to score their second at the back post shortly before the hour mark, with Adam Idah adding a third before Motherwall's Liam Gordon was sent off in stoppage time.
That result piled the pressure on Rangers, who could have ended the weekend nine points adrift of the top two, but they claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over St Mirren at Ibrox to stay within six.
Mohamed Diomande's powerful close-range finish put the Gers ahead, but Alex Gogic rose to nod in a St Mirren equaliser midway through the first half.
Vaclav Cerny spared their blushes, though, as he scored the winner following good work from Cyriel Dessers in the 69th minute.
Rangers go to second-placed Aberdeen, who are yet to lose this season, for a huge fixture in the title race on Wednesday.
In Sunday's other Premiership game, teenager James Wilson struck three minutes from time to rescue a point for Hearts in a 1-1 Edinburgh Derby draw at Hibernian.
Mykola Kuharevich had put Hibs ahead on the rebound after Marvin Ekpiteta headed against the crossbar just after the hour mark, but Wilson got the final touch to divert James Penrice's long throw home with stoppage time looming.
The result keeps Hibs rooted to the foot of the table with six points, though they are only behind 11th-placed Hearts on goal difference and still have a game in hand to come.
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