DON’T PANIC
Naisy: I didn’t get stressed at 2-0, I knew we would roar back 4
HEARTS grabbed the points after an incredible fightback – but Steven Naismith never had any doubt they would win.
For the Tynecastle manager the incredible turnaround in the first half was the ideal warm up for next week’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers at Hampden.
Livingston silenced Gorgie when birthday boy Stephen Kelly netted twice to hand David Martindale’s side a deserved advantage.
But that only kicked Hearts into gear and they roared back with four goals in 22 minutes before the break.
The Edinburgh side were, however, aided and abetted by some absolutely atrocious defending by the struggling
Lions. Hearts scored two almost identical goals from Jorge Grant and Yutaro Oda before Cammy Devlin fired them into the lead and Lawrence Shankland converted a spot- kick in first-half injury-time.
Hearts sealed European football after going 19 points clear of fifth-placed St Mirren but for Livi it summed up their season. They simply can’t defend and remain nine points adrift of Ross County.
Naismith insisted he was relaxed because he knew his side would hit back.
He said: “It was a poor start, really poor, really sloppy, and then brilliant. We lost two goals but it’s the third time we have come back.
“So that part I’m pleased with. But I knew when we were 2-0 down we’d come back into the game because we have shown it.
“The element of having a ruthless streak and being more clinical is something we have talked about.
“At no point did I think we need to hit the panic button or change it. We didn’t even change what we were doing, we just had to get better.”
Hearts keeper Craig Gordon made his first league start since breaking his leg on
Christmas Eve 2022 but the 41-year-old didn’t look too clever when Livi took a deserved 12th-minute lead.
He raced out of his goal to try to clear a ball from opposite number Shamal George but only succeeded in shifting it into the path of Kelly who celebrated his 24th birthday in style by lobbing it into the net from 30 yards.
Midway through the half Frankie Kent’s clearance was charged down and Kelly hammered his second goal.
Hearts hit back with a devastating two-goal blitz in three minutes. A clipped ball from Barrie McKay found Shankland and his cross was bundled in by Grant from point-blank range.
Then captain Shankland was the provider again after his cross was poked in by Oda.
Five minutes before halftime Shankland flicked McKay’s pass onto Alex Cochrane and his cross was turned in by Devlin.
Livi’s first- half collapse continued in injury time when Mikey Devlin was short with a header and keeper George hauled down Oda.
Shankland converted his 28th goal of the season from the penalty spot to end an incredible half.
The drama contained in the 58th minute with a bizarre sending off for Tete Yengi... after he’d been subbed.
He booted a bottle in Livi’s dugout but ref Colin Steven needlessly came over to give him a second yellow card.