Shields at the double to break sorry Hearts
HEARTS 2
Popescu (34), Gnanduillet (72)
QOS 3
Shields (2, 22), Irving (82, og)
Coming just four days after the most humiliating result in their 147-year history this hardly counts as a shock result for Hearts but it will have done nothing to persuade their disenchanted fans that things are getting any better.
Ironically, Queens manager Allan Johnston was a fans’ favourite here as a youngster but he went for Hearts’ jugular yesterday.
“We knew they were under a wee bit of pressure,” he admitted. “I played football long enough to know what it’s like coming off the back of a bad defeat.
“I expected them to come out on the front foot but we got the first goal, which set them back. I thought we were different class, especially in the first half. We played really well and created chances.”
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson and chairman Ann Budge have come in for stick, partly due to the lack
of entertainment on offer at Tynecastle and, while this was engrossing for neutrals and Doonhamers, there was no comfort for armchair Jambos.
Around a hundred youths gathered outside the stadium – which had been plastered with “Budge And Neilson Out” stickers – prior to the kick-off to drink and protest about being only 16 points clear at the top of the Championship.
That, admittedly, may say more about the quality of the second tier than the current strength of Neilson’s squad, particularly in the wake of the alarming Scottish Cup elimination by Brora Rangers in midweek.
In the circumstances, the last thing they needed was to gift their opponents an early goal. Which, of course, is exactly what they did.
Veteran striker Stephen Dobbie was the provider in this instance, intercepting a slack pass from Mihai Popescu before playing an inch-perfect through ball for Connor Shields, who raced on to place the ball inside Ross Stewart’s left-hand post from 15 yards.
The visitors had come to the capital five places and 19 points behind the leaders but they notched a deserved second midway through the first half.
Shields did the damage once again, this time assisted by Niyah Joseph. However, he still
had plenty to do as he looked up, spotted Stewart was off his line, and chipped him from all of 25 yards.
Hearts pulled one back before the break when Popescu atoned for his earlier gaffe by rising above everyone else at the near post to claim his first goal for the club with a glancing header from Halliday’s corner.
The visitors started the second half sharper than their opponents, with only Liam Boyce looking a threat.
And when the home side did manufacture openings there was always a yellow shirt willing to throw himself in front of the ball.
Hearts’ persistence paid off and the equaliser came in oldschool fashion, with substitute Euan Henderson haring down the right wing and cutting the ball back for Armand Gnanduillet to force it home from six yards.
Astonishingly, though, Queens found the energy to claim a third goal eight minutes from the end.
Joseph released Shields down the left and his cross was inadvertently turned into his own net by Andrew Irving as he tried to prevent it reaching Ciaran Dickson.
Gnanduillet thought he’d salvaged a point with a header at the death but the ball had gone out of play before Jamie Walker crossed for him.