Hearts fans vent fury as fifth straight loss and 20th of season puts £5m Euro prize in peril

It’s turning toxic at Tynecastle, Hearts fans venting their fury after watching their team slump to a fifth defeat in a row and out of the top three for the first time this year to crank up the pressure on under-fire manager Robbie Neilson ahead of the derby at Easter Road.

Goals from Curtis Main and Alex Gogic early in the second half did the damage in a 2-0 win for St Mirren which condemns Hearts to a 20th defeat of the season in all competitions. It takes the Saints to within just one point of the Gorgie side in the Premiership table, with in-form Aberdeen now two points clear in third and in the driving seat for the potential £5 million prize it could bring with probable group stage European football.

Just a couple of months ago the Dons were seventh, 11 points behind a Hearts team who looked to have third place sewn up. The turnaround has been remarkable.

The home side played the last half hour with ten men after Robert Snodgrass was sent off for a second yellow card offence and left the field to a cacophony of boos and jeers from those who stayed to the end. As he applauded supporters and made his way up the tunnel, Neilson was subjected to vitriolic abuse from some fans who want him to go.

Manager under pressure

The manager was under pressure going into the match after five defeats from six games in all competitions. That has now cranked up several notches, Hearts having now lost four league games in a row for the first time since December 2019. Neilson’s team were ten points clear in third just a couple of months ago, but now find themselves two points behind in fourth and looking over their shoulders. St Mirren are breathing down their necks and Hibs not far behind.

Graffiti scrawled outside Tynecastle calling for Neilson to go after last week’s loss at Kilmarnock had turned up the heat on the manager, who talked about the importance of “resilience” in the build-up to this pressure-cooker clash.

Robbie Neilson looks dejected as he walks off at full time

There was still a faint trace of the words spray-painted onto the club crest on the plaza in front of the main stand as the fans arrived, but there was more than just a trace of anger in the stands as Hearts faltered on the pitch again. The stadium had virtually emptied by full-time, but those who stayed made it clear in no uncertain terms what they thought.

Under performing

Neilson is nothing if not resilient, but knows he is struggling to get the best out of players who look drained of confidence. He has been severely hampered by injuries all season, but the players he has had available are capable of much better than what they have been producing in this wretched run.

Referee Matthew MacDermid shows Robert Snodgrass a red card after a tackle on St Mirren's Curtis Main

The biggest concern, perhaps, is that Hearts are losing individual battles all over the pitch. For the third week in a row, the opposition outfought the men in maroon shirts. There was plenty of possession, but a lot of it was at the wrong end of the pitch and Saints were able to turn the ball over too easily too often.

In forward areas there was very little invention or creativity to get the home fans off their seats and at the back Hearts looked vulnerable and hesitant. A bad combination all round.

Tactical changes

The manager tweaked his formation to 4-2-3-1 and – unsurprisingly – made four changes to the starting line-up following the defeat at Kilmarnock seven days earlier, Jorge Grant starting on the left and Snodgrass in a more advanced role, with Alan Forrest on the right flank.

Ross Stewart, James Hill, Andy Halliday and Cammy Devlin came in. Zander Clark and Josh Ginnelly missed out through injury, with Toby Sibbick and Orestis Kiomourtzoglou dropping to the bench. Peter Haring was named among the subs for the first the first time since suffering concussion in October. There was no place on the bench for Nathaniel Atkinson or Lewis Neilson. Harry Stone, 21 later this month, was the substitute goalkeeper.

St Mirren’s 5-3-2 provided plenty of space for full-backs Michael Smith and Stephen Kingsley to get on the ball early on, but it was a trap set by the visitors and options in front of them were difficult to find.

Loose passing

Hearts controlled the early part of the game, but the best chance fell to Gogic from a St Mirren corner midway through the first half. The former Hibs man should have done better with his free header at the back post, his attempt bouncing down over the bar.

Hearts lost their way somewhat from that point on, passes going astray, Saints regaining possession high up the pitch and edging the territorial battle. Andy Halliday crashed a header off the bar from a Kingsley cross just before the interval and Hearts did finish the opening half on top, but the brief flurry of positivity didn’t last long.

Poor defending

Saints came flying out of the traps after the break had a couple of chances early before Main’s sweet strike opened the scoring. Kye Rowles was at fault, turning his back on a routine long ball forward and getting his body position all wrong as the striker held him off, steadied himself and rifled low into the far corner from outside the box. It was a sweet strike and Stewart had no chance.

The defending was equally poor for the second, a long throw from Joe Shaughnessy not dealt with on first or second contact. The ball dropped to the unmarked O’Hara in the box front of goal and the midfielder’s shot took a deflection off Gogic on its way past Stewart into the net.

Forrest shot wide in the only real half-chance to pull one back before Snodgrass received his second yellow card for a sliding lunge on Main as the Saints man charged forward on the left flank. It was a desperate tackle which summed up a desperate performance. There was still half an hour to play, but it was game over for Hearts.