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Heart of Midlothian are out of Europe after a hugely disappointing Conference League draw with Moldovan champions Petrocub at Tynecastle.
Neil Critchley's side went behind to Sergiu Platica's goal and were booed off at half-time following a dismal first-half performance.
Goals after the break from 17-year-old James Wilson and substitute Blair Spittal transformed the atmosphere in Gorgie, but there was a late twist.
James Penrice handled on his own goal-line in an attempt to block a Petrocub shot and visiting centre-back Victor Mudrac calmly sent Craig Gordon the wrong way with the resulting penalty to level the scores.
Serbian side TSC scored three goals in seven minutes to beat Noah of Armenia 4-3 and bump Hearts out of the competition's top 24 on goals scored.
Both the result and performance pile further pressure on Critchley, who has now won just four of his first 14 matches in charge having succeeded Steven Naismith as head coach in October.
Out of Europe and bottom of the Premiership, Hearts were booed off again at full-time by the home fans that remained, but Critchley defended his players' commitment.
"The attitude wasn't a question tonight," he said. "The work ethic was there, our intensity and aggression to play the game was there. Since I've come in, the players have given their all. We competed well tonight - we just didn't produce the quality.
"We have to go again in the league, keep trying to pick up points and, if we do, that will give me the time to make the changes I think are required."
Critchley said he was shocked by Sunday's performance at Rugby Park, where they lost to a Kilmarnock side who played 90 minutes with 10 players, but this was more of the same against a side they were heavy favourites to beat.
Cammy Devlin inexplicably gave the ball away in the opening couple of minutes to set the tone and that nervousness spread across the pitch and into the stands.
Petrocub's first goal - Platica poking home Vladimir Ambros' cross - turned nervousness into anger and any mistake for the rest of the opening 45 was met with whistles and groans.
Hearts' midfield was non-existent, their lack of pace meaning they struggled to stretch the game, with only left-back Penrice taking the game to Petrocub.
Winger Alan Forrest was hooked at the interval for Spittal, a change that gave the hosts some much-needed impetus.
Wilson found the bottom corner after Lawrence Shankland was tackled in the opposition box and, six minutes later, Spittal coolly headed back across goal to put Hearts in front.
However, Petrocub continued to pose a threat on the break despite their lack of possession and Mudrak's penalty levelled the scores after Penrice's handball seven minutes from time.
There is a notable lack of leaders in this Hearts side. No-one stood up and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck when needed - and the game fizzled out.
Scotland striker Shankland is a shadow of the player he was last season and, while Gordon has been a magnificent servant, the goalkeeper came off his line unnecessarily for the first goal and his poor distribution only added to the unrest in the stands.
At best, Hearts have stood still under Critchley's leadership. A cynic would say they have gone backwards.
A win for Hearts would have kept them in European competition after Christmas for the first time in 35 years, a glimmer of hope in what has been an awful season to date, but Mudrac's spot-kick and TSC's victory snuffed that out.
If things are to turn around, they need a seriously good January transfer window to plug the gaps in their unbalanced squad. Otherwise, it's difficult to see how this changes for the better.
Hearts head coach Neil Critchley told BBC Scotland: "I'm just really down, because I knew the importance of this game for the football club. It's hugely disappointing - a tough one to take.
"At 2-1, the game's in our control and then we lacked the nous and experience on the pitch to see us through.
"We should have won the game - and we didn't. We have to accept the criticism that comes our way because of that. We didn't do enough.
"This is a results business. Managers understand the consequences if you keep losing games of football. We haven't lost tonight. It feels like a loss though."
