Hearts hit new low with defeat to Saints
Obika winner lifts spirited Saints but Stendel is staring at the drop
IT’S now beginning to resemble a frenzied game of snakes and ladders at the bottom of the Premiership.
And on the night that St Mirren moved up two places, Hearts were left stuck at the bottom of the board, looking for all the world like they need to roll a double-six to stay in the game.
This crushing loss for Daniel Stendel’s side was utterly deserved and, even with eight games to go, might just prove to be the moment they gave themselves too much to do in their quest to extend their five-year stay in the Premiership.
Devoid of guile and composure for fully 96 minutes in Paisley, this was a microcosm of the team’s campaign to date under, firstly, Craig Levein and now Stendel.
Four points off the play-off place occupied by Hamilton, Hearts seemed to lack all the necessary requirements to dig themselves out of this almighty hole.
St Mirren were everything the Gorgie side were not. Jim Goodwin’s men approached this like a cup final and never looked like leaving without the spoils.
Jon Obika was the hero with his 12th goal of the season three minutes after the break but there was not a single failure in the home ranks.
By the end, their Herculean efforts almost had them out on their feet but they stood up to the task as they had done all night. What a response to the mauling they received at Celtic Park.
They still have much work to do to ensure they are docked in a safe harbour in May but there is no question they’ll get there if they can replicate this performance.
Goodwin reintroduced Ross Wallace and Ilkay Durmus into his side at the expense of Tony Andreu and Jamie McGrath, while Stendel kept faith with the same XI who had started the draw with Motherwell on Saturday.
This was always going to be a clash high on endeavour and low on quality. Vice-like pressure rarely lends itself to anything else.
Yet St Mirren were much the more settled side in the opening, error-strewn minutes.
Alex Jakubiak’s clever dart in behind of the static visiting defence saw him ride Steven Naismith’s tackle. His cutback eventually dropped for Sam Foley but a lack of composure on the skipper’s part saw a decent opportunity pass him by.
Durmus looked like a man determined to prove a point to his manager. Having ghosted away from Michael Smith down the left flank, his in-swinging cross looked like catching Zdenek Zlamal unaware until the keeper back-peddled and tipped the ball over the top.
With Hearts struggling to make any initial headway, Calum Waters gave the home support further reason to believe with a stinging, goal-bound volley from a half-cleared corner which Clevid Dikamona took full in the chest.
A routine Aaron Hickey shot aside, the expectant visiting support were given precious little to encourage them.
That threatened to change when Smith’s cross picked out Sean Clare on the six-yard line but the midfielder’s header lacked both conviction and direction.
For all the Buddies remained on top until the break, their lack of punch in the final third was a constant. Being the lowest scorers in the league by a distance is the most unwelcome of traits.
There are times, though, when a player can do no more to make the breakthrough. The outstanding save Zlamal pulled off to prevent Cammy MacPherson sweeping home Jakubiak’s cross four minutes from the interval was a case in point. It was a truly brilliant piece of goalkeeping, the Czech’s concrete fist sending the ball spinning over the top.
Stendel attempted to get a foothold in the contest by replacing Clare with Liam Boyce at the interval, but before the striker’s boot had touched the ball, his side were behind.
The goal stemmed, predictably, from a Hearts error. Loic Damour was the sinner, his lack of composure turning possession over. Wallace spotted Obika lurking on the horizon and gave him half a chance with a clipped ball over the top.
Credit to the Englishman. Despite both Craig Halkett and Dikamona attempting to match him pace for pace, he stood his ground before bundling the ball into the net. It was richly deserved for the hosts.
Jakubiak might well have made it two soon after with an angled drive from the right-hand side that went beyond the far post, but roused the home supporters all the same.
The mood among the travelling support was darkening by the minute. The introduction of Andrew Irving on the hour seemed to be a sensible move but Stendel’s decision to withdraw Oliver Bozanic rather than the careless Damour did not go down at all well.
With St Mirren increasingly happy to hold on to what they had, Hearts began to dominate possession. Yet Vaclav Hladky in the Saints goal remained largely untroubled.
Damour joined Naismith in referee Alan Muir’s book before eventually trudging off to be replaced by Ryotaro Meshino. Frenchman Damour had a thoroughly miserable night — and he was not alone.
Amid a growing sense of panic, Stendel’s side fashioned a couple of half-chances but they were no more than that. Dikamona screamed for a penalty as Saints defended a corner but there seemed no obvious infringement.
Truthfully, Hearts went down tamely in the end. That might well be the story of their season.
ST MIRREN (4-3-3): Hladky 7; Hodson 7, McCarthy 4 (McGrath 31) Famewo 7, Waters 7; Wallace 7, Foley 6, MacPherson 7 (Andreu 56); Jakubiak 6, Obika 7, Durmus 7 (McAllister 70). Subs not used: Lyness, Mullen, Morias, Chabbi. Booked: None.
HEARTS (4-2-3-1): Zlamal 6; Smith 5, Dikamona 5, Halkett 5, Hickey 6; Clare 5 (Boyce 45), Damour 4 (Meshino 74); Bozanic 5 (Irving 60), Naismith 5, Moore 5; Washington 5. Subs not used: Pereira, Walker, Langer, Henderson. Booked: Naismith, Damour.
Man of the match: Jon Obika. Referee: Alan Muir. Attendance: 5,662.