Hearts made it two wins on the spin in the William Hill Premiership, as they saw off St. Mirren 3-1 in a midweek meeting at Tynecastle Park.
A first-half strike from Mikael Mandron had St. Mirren ahead at the break, but a James Wilson equaliser, along with a delightful goal from Calem Nieuwenhof, and a injury time strike from Kenneth Vargas, saw the Jambos claim all three points ahead of Sunday’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.
Neil Critchley made several changes to the lineup; Norwegian midfielder Sander Kartum was handed his maiden start in maroon, whilst Calem Nieuwenhof joined him following his appearance from the bench in Perth last Sunday.
Starting on the attack, Hearts carved out a half chance after five minutes. James Wilson picked up the ball from Baningime on the right and hammered a good cross into the box. Kabangu raced to intercept, forcing the ball wide of the post as he clattered Zach Hemming out of the way.
There was little to report in the way of goalmouth action until the 20th minute when VAR stepped in to check a potential St. Mirren penalty. Craig Gordon rose to punch clear a Buddies cross, taking out Marcus Fraser in the process, but the original decision stood.
Chances continued to be at a premium, with both sides seeing plenty of the ball, throughout the half. James Wilson did well to win a corner on the break, with the resulting delivery seeing Jamie McCart plant a header into the gloves of Hemming.
The deadlock was broken after 38 minutes as St. Mirren took the lead. A high ball into the box was eventually deflected into the path of a lurking Mikael Mandron – showing killer instinct to react and slam the ball into the bottom corner from close range.
HT: Heart of Midlothian 0-1 St. Mirren
After a shaky start to proceedings in the second 45, Hearts got their noses back on level terms after 56 minutes. Richard Taylor failed to properly clear the Hearts cross, with James Wilson forcing his way through to stab the ball home from close range.
It was game on at Tynecastle, and Hearts soon had their second of the evening with a remarkable goal.
Hearts pressed forward into a packed St. Mirren area. Calem Nieuwenhof picked up the ball on the edge of the area, took the ball onto his other foot, and curled a sumptuous strike beyond Hemming to put the Jambos in front.
There was a twist in the tale after 71 minutes as St. Mirren were very nearly reduced to ten men. Jamie McCart leaped to challenge Killian Phillips for an aerial duel, with the St. Mirren’s man’s head appearing to smash into McCart’s.
A red card was issued, but VAR pulled it back to check whether it met the threshold for violent conduct. The referee’s consultation with the screen saw the decision overturned, and Phillips’ red downgraded to a yellow.
St. Mirren continued to threaten as the match entered the final ten. Greg Kiltie found a pocket of space as he drifted in off the left, sending a low drive at Gordon that had to be smothered quickly.
A lengthy six minutes of added time was to be navigated next, but nerves were quickly settled as they grabbed a fantastic third through Kenneth Vargas.
In a delightful team move, Shankland backheeled into the path of Grant in the St. Mirren box. Under pressure, he cooly slid the ball into the path of Vargas, who made no mistake as he buried the ball home.
After a lengthy VAR check for possible offside, the goal was confirmed and the boys in maroon held on to claim a valuable three points that carries them into the top six for the first time this season.
Next up, the small matter of a trip to Leith…
Hearts: Gordon, Baningime, Nieuwenhof (Grant 66’), Shankland, Steinwender, Kabangu (Vargas 83’), Wilson (Musa 83’), Kartum (Spittal 66’), Penrice, McCart, Taylor
Subs: Clark, Grant, Spittal, Forrest, Milne, Neilson, Forrester, Musa, Vargas
St. Mirren: Hemming, Alebiosu (Bwomono 45’), Taylor (Idowu 90’), O’Hara, Ayunga (Olusanya 45’), Mandron, Gogic, Boyd-Munce, Fraser, John, Phillips (Kiltie 77’)
Subs: Urminsky, Tanser, Smyth, Kiltie, Idowu, Scott, Olusanya, Kenny, Bwomono
Attendance: 18,770
