Heart of Midlothian knew, no matter the outcome on Sunday, they would continue to lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership, such is the position they have put themselves in this season, topping the table since November.
Defeat at Ibox, going down 4-2 to Rangers, simply meant the margin for error at the top and over the next 11 games is reduced.
It remains a position that everyone associated with the club would have bitten several hands off for at the start of the season and the first few months of the campaign.
There were positive moments and elements of the performance, but the overriding feeling may well be frustration.
Team selection
Derek McInnes made two changes from the win over Hibs in the Edinburgh derby, with Craig Halkett replacing Frankie Kent in the centre of defence and Ageu coming in for Landry Kabore, starting his first game for the club since his record-breaking move in August.
The Hearts head coach spoke of wanting an extra midfielder with Ageu playing in front of Beni Baningime and Marc Leonard, supporting Claudio Braga.
"We thought if Rangers went 4-4-2, as we thought they might have done, we could maybe, with the size of the pitch here, try and take advantage of that through the middle of the pitch with three technical players - Beni, Marc and Ageu - in there," he explained.
"And we felt that with Braga playing as that kind of nine who likes to come towards the ball, that Ageu can maybe go beyond. At times, I thought we showed some evidence of that. Maybe just not quite enough."
First-half encouragement and concerns
The first half at Ibrox was as entertaining a 45 minutes as there has been so far this season in the Scottish Premiership, whether you were looking at it from an action point of view or a tactical point of view.
At times, it resembled the final stages of a cup game with both teams keen to avoid extra-time.
Hearts have gone toe-to-toe with Celtic and Rangers this season. There has not been the case of sitting back, soaking up pressure and trying to eke out a result. It's been as much about causing trouble as it has been about containment.
That was seen as early as the third minute. When Hearts lost the ball in the Rangers half, the first thought was win it back rather than retreat. Baningime and Leonard swarmed Nico Raskin.
When he squeezed a pass through, Chermiti was immediately pressed in his own half by Craig Halkett.
A few minutes later, Rangers broke Hearts' press and, for a split second, had a four v three. Halkett wins the ball on the halfway line. It was a crucial intervention and another demonstration of Hearts' brave approach.
That was a key reason behind the opening goal as Hearts capitalised on poor play from the home side.
Leonard was pushed high out of possession and he was switched on to latch onto Emmanuel Fernandez's loose pass and Raskin's lack of awareness.
It earned him his first goal for the Hearts first team and first goal for Hearts since scoring in a reserve game in 2017 against Partick Thistle.
Leonard's positioning was perhaps the most interesting, certainly out of possession. He almost made it look like a front three as he often tracked Tochi Chukwuani. The Hearts wide men were tasked with following the Rangers full-backs and the Hearts full-backs on the two Rangers wide men.
Coupled with the movement of Andreas Skov Olsen and Mikey Moore, often drifting infield, it was causing problems for Hearts. Kyziridis and Chesnokov were being pushed deep at times.
Rangers on a couple of occasions zipped passes into the middle of the park where their wide men were goal side of the Hearts midfield. That is perhaps what concerned McInnes the most regarding the half-time change.
An example came as early as the sixth minute as Chukwuani popped a pass into the Dane.
Then, in the 20th minute, you can see the reaction from Chesnkov to Beni Baningime, who was drawn into a wider position, vacating space in the middle.
Fernandez was able to find Moore.
Yet, while the front four were causing issues with their movement, they didn't actually create much from those situations.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing for McInnes was the fact that both of Rangers' first-half goals came from positive attacking situations that Hearts failed to take advantage of.
The key moment in the game, in this writer's opinion, came in the 18th minute.
The Ibrox support was beginning to turn on their players. The noise before and at the start of the game was loud. Some of those who cover Rangers remarked that it was similar to an Old Firm game. But Hearts, having taken the lead in the manner they had, were set to turn the screw.
Another Rangers attack had broken down. Hearts had two chances to find Chesnokov scampering down the right-hand side. Doing so would have had a two v two situation going into the Rangers half.
Ageu made the mistake of not playing forward when he had the chance, going back to Baningime rather than turning.
When it went to Baningime, he could have clipped a pass to Chesnokov running down the right. He went to Ageu and if it had been spot on, the Brazilian could have turned and made it 3v2.
That wasn't the only moment. Prior to the opening goal, Ageu tried to play into Braga, who was being marked rather than opening up to Chesnokov.
The second Rangers goal started with Hearts in possession and four advancing in and around the home side's box. Within 18 seconds, it was in the back of the net.
When you do go to Ibrox and Celtic Park, there is a need for your goalkeeper to make big saves, but that wasn't the case for Hearts, with Alexander Schwolow not looking particularly strong for the first two goals.
Two moments toward the end of the half saw a Hearts transition from deep not amount to anything and Baningime electing to shoot when Steinwender had created an overload in space on the right with four in the box.
Second-half changes
When Hearts emerged from the break, McInnes had made two changes. Ageu and Chesnokov had been replaced by Kabore and Jordi Altena with a switch to a 3-4-3.
"Because it was two each and the game was a wee bit basketbally for me. We just looked for that extra body at the back. We needed to take the sting out of the game, the way Rangers finished the half. And I thought, by and large, we did," McInnes explained.
"I thought we needed a wee bit more of a focal point at times just to play beyond Rangers' press. Obviously, they come in with their two big strikers. We actually anticipated that they might go with two strikers and maybe go a 4-4-2. Because I think when a Rangers team goes 4-4-2 at home, it takes the anxiety out of trying to build the play too much. They can hit their strikers a bit quicker. And I thought that, at times, it paid dividends for them.
"But we anticipated that. But it wasn't those moments. It wasn't direct play up to strikers that caused the problems. It was our own transitions. And we just thought that, by keeping Kyzi and Braga tucked in close to Kabore... I thought we started the second half really well with some good moments. And I thought we'd seen the benefit of a focal point on Kabore. But the third goal is a disappointing goal to lose."
It is a decision that was a key talking point amongst fans following the match. It was a decision that changed the dynamic of the game, with positive and negative aspects.
Rewatching the first half provided a greater understanding of McInnes' thinking.
As mentioned, Skov Olsen and Moore were threatening and causing issues with their positioning. The move to a back three helped thwart that general threat from open play, cutting the supply line and space to Skov Olsen and Moore getting the ball between the lines.
When Rangers had the ball, it was often in front of Hearts and the threat on the transition was nullified.
The key third goal, another big moment in the game, came about via a decision-making error. Stuart Findlay, the left-sided centre-back in a three, came across and tracked Skov Olsen well.
When the ball went back, naturally, he wanted to return to a position within the box, which meant he left the Danish international in acres of space.
The graphic below shows Milne looking behind him, realising Findlay had retreated. The centre-back ended up in no man's land when the cross was delivered.
The game went from being "basketbally" to the visitors having more control. Hearts went from having a 34 per cent share of possession with 143 passes (74 per cent accuracy) in the first half to 54 per cent possession with 199 passes (81 per cent accuracy) in the second.
There was a period between the 70th and 80th minute where Hearts were in the ascendancy, prompting Rangers to change formation, taking off a striker for midfielder Mohamed Diomande.
Yet, as was the story of the half for Hearts, they didn't pose enough of an attacking threat with Braga less impactful from a withdrawn role. While they had more of the ball, it was in front of Rangers and rarely behind them or down the sides. They managed just two shots after the break.
There were moments, especially down the left, where the ball was in an encouraging area, but the only time it was advanced into a dangerous area was through some excellent wing play from Harry Milne.
Hearts needed more from Braga's supporting players. Ageu, Chesnokov, Kyziridis, Kabore and Rogers Mato, who was a late sub, combined for two shots, two touches in the Rangers box and one chance created.
It was all but summed up by the goal that sealed the win for Rangers.
Hearts, pushing for an equaliser, had worked a throw-in in the final third to allow Leonard to deliver with six in the box. A good cross was punched away and then, from there, within 18 seconds, it was far too easy for Djeidi Gassama to hit Hearts on the break and set up Chermiti for his hat-trick.
Conclusion
Losing any game of football is disappointing, even more so when it is a top-of-the-table clash in the most exciting title battle this century in the Scottish Premiership.
However, frustration is perhaps a stronger feeling than disappointment.
The frustration of going ahead twice but not capitalising on turning the Ibrox crowd. The frustration of not making the most of positive moments on the counter in the first half. The frustration of not posing enough of a threat in the second half. The frustration of giving up cheap goals.
It was the first time this season Hearts had lost by more than a goal, but that was down to the game state.
There were positives to take from the encounter and going to Ibrox for a mammoth match which had an atmosphere to match and the team weren't overawed.
The result shouldn't alter the belief and confidence of the Hearts support in what this team can achieve and McInnes was right to be bullish when he spoke to the press afterwards.
Even with two defeats in the space of three games, they remain top. The margin for error has been reduced, but the next six games present an opportunity to build it back up and go into the split in as strong a position as possible.
