Hearts were defeated 2-1 by St. Mirren at the SMISA Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Craig Halkett’s 18th minute header cancelled out an own goal from Gerald Taylor, before Olutoyosi Olusanya’s 34th minute goal which proved to be the winner.
Steven Naismith made one tweak to the side that faced Celtic at Parkhead; Blair Spittal replacing Kye Rowles as the Jambos reverted to a back four, with Lawrence Shankland leading the line up front.
Not even 20 seconds had registered on the clock in Paisley before Hearts stormed into the St. Mirren half. Fantastic running from Kenneth Vargas on the right saw him cut inside and square to Blair Spittal, with the forward’s shot blocked at the last gasp by the leg of Marcus Fraser.
The sold out away end roared in approval as Hearts continued on the front foot. An excellent cross from James Penrice picked out Lawrence Shankland at the back post, who promptly swung the ball back onto the head of Spittal – with his header going over the crossbar.
Against the run of play, St. Mirren took the lead after seven minutes. From the corner, Richard Taylor leaped highest to send a header flying into the top right corner beyond the reach of Craig Gordon. Subsequent replays showed it was Gerald Taylor who got the final touch, marking it down as an own-goal.
The Jambos kept going, with Jorge Grant fashioning a half-chance for himself after 11 minutes. Scooping up a St. Mirren clearance on the edge of the box, the midfielder let fly with a dipping volley that went over the bar.
Hearts got a deserved equaliser after 18 minutes, with Craig Halkett sending a cute header past Ellery Balcombe in the St. Mirren goal following a good delivery from Blair Spittal at the corner.
The pendulum swung again on 34 minutes as St. Mirren forced their way back into the game. Alex Gogic’s free kick was flicked on by a St. Mirren shirt, with Olutoyosi Olusanya reacting quickest to send the ball into the Jambos’ net.
The chances kept coming for Hearts, with Balcombe making a good diving save to push away a vicious James Penrice effort from distance in the final action of the half for Hearts.
HT: St. Mirren 2-1 Heart of Midlothian
More running from Vargas down the right came as the Jambos started the second 45. The Costa Rican made a good cross towards an oncoming Lawrence Shankland, the ball narrowly missing the number nine, before the linesman flagged for offside against Vargas.
A long throw opened the door for the hosts to keep testing Hearts’ defences, with a flick on opening a window for Olusanya to sneak in and send a dangerous attempt wide of Gordon’s goal.
St. Mirren kept creating chances, with Alex Gogic seeing his header ripple the side netting of the Hearts goal from the corner. As the game settled into a rhythm, the next big opportunity wouldn’t come until the 77th minute.
Kevin Van Veen found himself slipping into the Hearts area then, racing for goal and sending a powerful strike at Craig Gordon from an angle – with the Dutchman watching his effort drag wide.
The St. Mirren forward had another opportunity as the game entered the final ten minutes, capitalising on a slack pass to go through on goal. He lined up well but saw his effort go wide of the post.
With two minutes left in regular time, Yutaro Oda did well to meet Alan Forrest’s corner but could only watch as it went over the bar.
St. Mirren: Balcombe, Taylor, O’Hara, Mandron (Van Veen 68’), Gogic, Boyd-Munce (Idowu 83’), Rooney, Olusanya (Scott 68’), Brown (Tanser 45’), Fraser, Phillips (Smythe 69’)
Subs: Urminsky, Bwomono, Dunne, Tanser, Smyth, Idowu, Scott, Ayunga, Van Veen
Hearts: Gordon, Kingsley, Halkett, Baningime, Grant (Boyce 75’), Shankland, Spittal (Dhanda 69’), Boateng, Penrice (Forrest 75’), Vargas (Oda 62’), Taylor (Oyegoke 45’)
Subs: Clark, Oyegoke, Oda, Devlin, Rowles, Forrest, Dhanda, Boyce, Musa
