Visitors break 32-year record as one player stands out in 2-1 victory
HBack to winning ways 1 2
EARTS secured t hree points in the Premiership with a hard-fought 2-1 win over St Mirren at a windswept S Mi S A Stadium. The visitors went ahead in Paisley through a Jorge Grant penalty after referee Alan Muir consulted the monitor following a Kenneth Vargas shot that struck an arm. Hearts doubled the lead after half- time through Alex Cochrane’s corner, albeit the player who got the final touch is not certain. St Mirren got back into it through Toyosi Olusanya but Steven Naismith’s men held on.
Here are some key takeaways ....
When the team lines dropped at 13.48 there would have been a fair few concerned souls in the sold-out away end. The travelling support will have prepared themselves for Calem Nieuwenhof and Beni Baningime not being in the starting XI. Lawrence Shankland’s absence will have come as a surprise. No doubt there would have been plenty fans uttering the phrase: “I’d take a point”. Hearts got much more than that. This was a big win.
Steven Naismith may have not got the performance he was aiming for going into the fixture but given the circumstances, both missing players and less-than-ideal conditions, the visitors did what they needed to eke out a victory and get back to winning ways.
In previous games between the sides, Hearts have dominated possession but it was a role reversal with the home side seeing more of the ball. This was a Hearts victory borne out of organisation, hard work and character.
Importantly, with the Scottish Cup semi-final around the corner, it is a nice confidence boost following a run of one win in five in the league and takes the team that step closer to securing third place.
Back three success
There was plenty of deliberation in the build-up to the game regarding the system. Naismith opted for a back three and it was a shrewd decision. Not only did it provide extra protection against an aggressive and mobile St Mirren forward line that had posed problems against a back four in the previous meeting in Paisley but it was also beneficial with the wind swirling around the stadium, acting like a 12th man but doing so in a way where it constantly switched what team it was benefitting.
Kye Rowles provided good pace against the threat of Toyosi Olusanya while Stephen Kingsley and Toby Sibbick were solid on the right of the back three in either half. But it was Frankie Kent who stood out with his no-nonsense defending, clearing his lines when required, his decision making and his aerial ability and reading of the ball in the air.
There was a moment in the second half where his towering presence saw him get his head on two very dangerous balls that were heading in the direction of a St Mirren player. He did almost score an own goal but Zander Clark was on hand with the save.
St Mirren’s goal came after some sloppy Hearts defending, with Dexter Lembikisa not dealing with the ball as last-man, allowing Olusanya to run through and score.
No Shankland? No problem (sort of)
The absence of Hearts’ talismanic striker was in itself unusual – this was only the second league game in almost two years that Shankland wasn’t involved in – but Naismith’s men coped well.
Vargas and Alan Forrest led the line in attack, and it was Vargas who assumed the role of the endpoint to Hearts’ attacking moves. The Costa Rican was feeding off scraps for long stretches of the game but worked tirelessly throughout and held his own in the physical battle with St Mirren’s centre-backs.
Shankland’s presence was truly missed, however, when Hearts were building out. Without Shankland to hold it up, some of the visitors’ attacking play was rushed.
Tait and Devlin up for the fight
It was notable just how stark the physical contrast between the two teams was in Paisley, with the midfield in particular standing out.
Macaulay Tait and Cammy Devlin are several inches shorter and a few stone lighter than St Mirren’s midfielders, but they didn’t shrink from the physical battle in the middle.
Baningime and Nieuwenhof have comfortably accrued more minutes than any other midfielders at Hearts this season, but Naismith’s men coped well with their absence.
Away record hex broken
It has been 32 years since a Hearts side recorded double figures for away wins in the top flight. That was back
in the 1991/ 92 campaign when Hearts finished second in a 44-game season, aided by 15 wins on the road. Fast forward to the present day and three points at the SMiSA Stadium, where the club’s recent record is far from positive, brings the season tally on the road in the Premiership to 10. Seven more than last season.
The away hex has been broken, just as the long wait for a win at Celtic Park was earlier in the season.
Buddies eye up Europe
Stephen Robinson praised his St Mirren players for sealing top-six football for a second successive season and urged them to aim for Europe.
Robinson said: “The top six is achieved over 33 games and you get your rewards. We are five points clear in fifth place and this group thoroughly deserves that.
“It’s the first time the club has achieved successive top-six finishes in 39 years. People’s expectations have risen massively and that’s down to the players.
“With the resources we have, we shouldn’t be in the top six. We are punching way above our weight.
“Now our aim is can we get into Europe?
“It’s 37 years since we managed that but now we can breathe a bit, relax and play our football.”