Third defeat in a row as Perth men forget the road to goal Lafferty nicks it for Hearts
Liam Gordon slotted into the Perth defence with ease Hearts ........................... 1 St Johnstone ................. 0 Murrayfield has become used to hosting high-scoring teams who produce an exciting afternoon of sport.
But Saturday’s Scottish Premiership fixture in the capital will certainly not be remembered as a classic.
More than one thousand St Johnstone supporters pitched up at the home of Scottish Rugby for, most likely, a once in a life-time contest.
When the full-time whistle sounded, it was that travelling contingent who were trundling out of the stadium in disappointment.
Hearts forward Kyle Lafferty bagged all three points for his side in the second half with a cruel deflection which nestled in the bottom corner.
It resulted in a third successive league defeat for Saints who have dropped to sixth in the Premiership standings.
For Stefan Scougall – a shining light for the Perth men – there has to be a more clinical edge in the final third.
He said: “Nil-nil would probably have been a fair result. There wasn’t much in the game and they ultimately won the game from a deflection.
“In the first half I felt we were threatening without creating too many chances. But we had a good shape.
“Second half it took us a little while to get going and overall it is a hard one for us to take.
“We need to be better in both boxes. We were better defensively but that is now three defeats on the bounce. We’re needing a final