Good boos - fans get their Hearts flowing
HEARTS 2 Mackay-Steven (61), Kingsley (75) ST MIRREN 0
Robbie Neilson defended the right of Hearts fans to give his team a hard time.
The Tynecastle faithful weren’t overly impressed by the firsthalf showing of their favourites against St Mirren.
There were groans and even a few boos before the Jambos got the goals that sent them to second place in the Premiership.
Neilson and his men have increased fans’ expectations after a sparkling start to the season but the Hearts manager doesn’t mind that leading to a demanding crowd.
He said: “It’s part and parcel of playing at Tynecastle.
“You pay your money to be entertained, to see goals and see shots on goal.
“I thought in the first half they pressed us and when we got into areas to pull the trigger, we didn’t do it.
“In the second half we were a lot more free-flowing.
“The game ebbed and flowed. We had chances and so did they.
“Every team can beat every team in the league this season.
No team will come here who we’ll beat 3-0 or 4-0 easily.
“There will always be periods when the opposition have chances. For us it’s just about winning games.
“We’ve been doing that at Tynecastle and we need to show wecantakeittoanawaygame – the next one being in Glasgow against Celtic.”
There was a feeling St Mirren might have missed an opportunity by not punishing Hearts for an under-par first 45. That proved to be the case. The teams were very evenly matched for 45 minutes, but Saints managed 10 shots and the Jambos only three.
Getting the ball past Craig Gordon was, as teams at home and abroad have found, no easy task.
The Scotland No. 1 defied the Paisley men on several occasions – whether it was his legs or his hands, he always found a way.
A flurry of attempts early in the second half saw decent efforts from McAllister and McGrath pushed away in emphatic style.
When he was beaten, Liam Boyce was on the line to block a header from Fraser.
The game really opened up in the second-half, with Alnwick producing a top save from Mackay-Steven’s volley before some fans were even back in their seats.
It didn’t take GMS long to make an impact that made up for his rather understated first
45 minutes. Hearts were making a concerted effort to push higher up the pitch and the former Celtic and Aberdeen winger was on hand to calmly slide the ball home from the middle of the penalty box.
It was a goal that relieved a lot of the pressure his side appeared to be feeling.
Earlier grumbles were replaced by vociferous cheers when Stephen Kingsley doubled the lead.
He floated a free-kick over the visitors’ defensive wall and high into the corner of the goal.
Celebrations ensued, nerves were soothed and three points could safely be added to Hearts’ tally.
St Mirren had skipper Joe Shaughnessy sent off with seconds remaining when he collected a second yellow card after committing a foul on Devlin at the edge of his own area.
Neilson was happy to report good news about Beni Baningime, who was carried off late in the match.
He said: I think he will be all right. He was up and walking about
“I think he just got more of a shock at the time. He twisted his knee a wee bit and he was stretchered off.
“Even when he came off he said he was all right.
“I think he just wanted a standing ovation. He didn’t get one!”