Beale came in last December, won 17 matches in a row outside the games against Celtic then fell to their first defeat at Aberdeen. Today they fell at the first hurdle with the pressure on.
With Ridvan Yilmaz injured in training it looks like Borna Barisic will have to be selected with no interest from elsewhere in the Croat who is in the final year of his contract.
Meanwhile Beale has to assess his walking wounded and decide who will be the least risk to use on the plastic pitch at Kilmarnock on Saturday ahead of the Champions League qualifier against Servette four days later.