Exclusive:Hearts to improve with two players identified to make an impact in the Scottish Premiership
Scottish Premiership leaders held to a 2-2 draw at St Mirren
Hearts supporters can expect more exposure for recent signings Landry Kabore and Tomas Magnusson in forthcoming matches. Both players have demonstrated their adjustment to Scottish football with substitute outings and impressed head coach Derek McInnes. He complimented the Burkinabe forward and the Icelandic midfielder in a debrief after Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at St Mirren.
McInnes spoke to the Edinburgh News to stress that he saw plenty positives in his team’s performance in Paisley. St Mirren took the lead twice with Dan Nlundulu’s spectacular overhead kick and then Miguel Freckleton’s close-range finish. Both goals stemmed from set-plays Hearts didn’t defend well, but the visitors fought back to level through Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga. Kabore was only denied a dramatic late winner by a VAR offside call against Oisin McEntee.
Eager for defensive situations to be handled better, McInnes explained the pros and cons of Hearts’ display. Kabore replaced defender Stephen Kingsley after 65 minutes and looked effective as a wide-left forward running at opponents, plus as a presence inside the penalty area. Magnusson didn’t appear until 85 minutes when replacing Braga, but enjoyed another brief cameo after a similar outing in Sunday’s win over Celtic.
McInnes was encouraged by both substitutes. With successive home games against Dundee and Dundee United to come before November’s international break, Kabore and Magnusson are likely to be more involved. “I'm still positive about lots of the performance last night,” said McInnes. “I’m positive about how we finished the game, that we still felt there was a win in us. The disappointing part is we made it so much more difficult for ourselves.
“We dropped too deep for the first St Mirren goal. It's a good goal from their point of view, we've got to say that, but he [Nlundulu] shouldn't be attempting that. If he is attempting it, then it should be from outside the box if we take our defensive line higher. I didn't think it was a foul in the first place. I think Marcus Fraser has bought one, but that said, when the ball gets sailed forward, we need to be at least 10 yards further up the pitch. Don't invite that type of basic threat.
“The response was good, Beni Baningime should score, we had good counter-attacking threat and moments with [Alexandros] Kyziridis, Braga and Lawrence breaking. We didn't quite make the most of it. We got a good equaliser from Lawrence, then started the second half really strongly. Lawrence will be disappointed he hasn't scored from the chance when he hit the post. I thought we looked the more likely team at that stage but, underneath it all, there's still this threat from St Mirren at set-plays.
“For the first time this season, we didn't look as comfortable as I would like us to be. We don't lack size ourselves but we certainly aren't as big as St Mirren. Their deliveries were good and they had that threat. At their second goal, we shouldn’t be knocking the ball back into that area. We should be putting it back out for a corner and resetting. We were a bit rushed with that and needed to keep our heads.
“Again, the response was good and we get our equaliser with Braga. We had a few moments and then I thought our subs - Magnusson and Kabore - had a big influence on the game. We think it's a perfect ending with Kabore getting the winner, only for VAR to rule it out.
“I said to the players that it's not a bad thing them being as disappointed as they are. We went there to win and I thought we did enough to win in terms of chances created. It will seem a good point on the road if we can go and win our game on Saturday. St Mirren is a notoriously difficult place to go, but I loved how we finished the game. I loved the approach.
“It's okay me trying to make positive subs and me believing there is another goal in us, but I thought the supporters believed there was another one in us. The players played the way I want them to play, still trying to get the win, but it wasn't to be. When you go to St Mirren, there are a lot of things you need to do right to get out with a victory and we didn't quite do that.”
Kabore arrived in Scotland in August and, like Magnusson and some of Hearts’ other summer recruits, has taken time to adapt to the Premiership. He came from the Estonian league, with Magnusson from Iceland. Both now look more comfortable within the Scottish top flight but have had to stay patient due to Hearts’ unbeaten league run. McInnes may now look to change his line-up over the next couple of games.
“From the bench, we've used Elton Kabangu because we've been winning games and Elton has been the perfect one to use explosive pace for when teams come onto you,” explained the manager. “Last night, we weren't winning and we got into good attacking areas, we just needed a bit more physicality. There was less space to run in behind.
“Landry did a bit of everything. His touch was good, he looked after the ball, he was in the box when we needed him, he used his physicality at the right times, and he ran the gaps. He should be so pleased with his performance. I'm delighted for him because it's a big adjustment and it's taken a while for him to show that. Good on him. It would've been brilliant if he got the winner, you saw his passion in the celebration, but unfortunately it wasn't to be. We take our point.
“In the cold light of day, if somebody had said after 10 games this season Hearts would be six points clear of Celtic at the top of the league, you'd have taken that. So there needs to be some sort of perspective. I'm not too downbeat. I'm disappointed we haven't won the game because we put a lot into it.
“I know the reasons we didn't win and it's important we get better at that when we have to defend, but a lot about the performance was good. Sometimes that can be masked when you don't get the outcome you want. The positives I'm taking away from it is how good my subs were when they came on.”