Hearts debrief: Humphrys mystery; Tactical troubles; Uncomfortable Grant

A look back at the 2-0 home defeat against St Mirren at Tynecastle which has dropped Hearts down to fourth in the table.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Stephen Kinglsey set up two scoring chances either side of half time, always made himself available and competed well. But he was one of only three players in the starting XI to get pass marks, Ross Stewart and Lawrence Shankland the others.

DEFINING MOMENT

The second yellow card shown to Robert Snodgrass in the 62nd minute was a desperate measure which summed up a thoroughly miserable afternoon for Hearts. Curtis Main had picked up the ball in a dangerous counter-attacking position on the left flank and the only way Snodgrass could stop him in his tracks was to lunge in with a slide tackle. It was clumsy and the sending off killed off any faint hopes of staging a fight-back while emptying the home stands.

TACTICAL OBSERVATIONS

Robbie Neilson tweaked things again, but could not find the winning formula he so desperately needed against a well-drilled St Mirren team who won more individual duels and did the basics better. The 4-2-3-1 formation gave full-backs Michael Smith and Stephen Kingsley lots of time and space on the ball, but the options in front of them were limited. Saints boss Stephen Robinson revealed afterwards that he had set a trap by allowing Hearts space to start building from the back before closing down quickly in midfield to regain possession. It worked and, despite having lots of the ball, Hearts offered very little in the attacking third.

BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT

Stephen Kingsley, one of the few to emerge with pass marks, looks dejected at full time

Starting with Stephen Humphrys in attack might have given Hearts a bigger threat in attack. Jorge Grant, a right-footed central midfielder starting wide on the left, looked uncomfortable having to cut in and was often forced to play the ball backwards. That selection didn’t really work. Neither did moving Robert Snodgrass into a more advanced role.

REF WATCH

Matthew MacDermid incurred the wrath of Hearts fans for missing some flailing arms and robust challenges, but the biggest mistakes came from players in maroon.

WHAT’S NEXT

A massive Edinburgh derby at Easter Road, kicking off at 12.30pm on Saturday.