Nai problem
Steven Naismith was Hearts’ hat-trick hero against St Mirren which maintained their 100% start at the top of the Premiership.
Hearts were without their manager, Craig Levein, their captain, Christophe Berra, and their top scorer from last season, Kyle Lafferty, yet still won this one at a canter.
The title race may be a long way down the road, but with seven straight wins across league and cup this season, they look nothing if not formidable.
That they extended their run was due in no small part to Steven Naismith, who hit his first hat-trick since September 2015 when he netted three for Everton against Chelsea.
Then he did so coming off the bench, here he managed the trick of doing it all in the first 45, during which he also threw in an assist for good measure.
It won them the points and raised the question of why the 31-year-old was overlooked by Scotland for the upcoming double header against Belgium, a friendly, and the Nations League tie against Albania.
“I definitely want to add to the 45 caps I’ve got. As long as I’m playing and doing well I’ll feel like I can contribute for Scotland,” said Naismith.
“But it’s a transition period for the national team at the moment and the manager’s picked his squad.
“I just have to work hard
and keep putting in performances like to that to stay in his mind.
“I spoke to him in the summer about the friendly games, but I had a niggling achilles injury and didn’t want to not do myself justice. “I wanted to have a good pre-season and I’ve done that. He was fair with me and I’m now working as hard as I can to get in there.
“When you get into your thirties you’re always fighting a battle to stay in the squad.” He did have Uche Ikpeazu to thank for getting him up and running.
Barely had all the fans settled into their seats than referee Kevin Clancy was pointing to the penalty spot, the Englishman having drawn a foul out of Jack Baird.
Saints keeper Craig Samson guessed Naismith’s intentions pretty well and went the right way at the spot-kick but could get down quick enough and it was 1-0.
The early breakthrough set things up nicely with the visitors obliged to come out and push for an equaliser, which they got – with a little help from Hearts new face Jimmy Dunne.