Neil Critchley delighted with Hearts character in 2-1 St Johnstone win

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley has praised the character of his players to hold off a second half St Johnstone fight back and secure their first away three points of the 24/25 Scottish Premiership season.

A Nicky Clark own goal at the visitors ahead in the first half before VAR intervened and Saints were awarded a penalty in the second half which Clark converted. The hosts were the better team after the break but substitute Kenneth Vargas was able to put Hearts back in front and his teammates dug deep to hold on to the victory.

Asked if he was please with the character his players showed, Cricthley said: “Yeah, without a doubt, and that was the message to the players before the game. I always say good teams don't lose twice on the bounce. They always respond, and they find a way to win. And we needed to respond from the other night. We need to show what we're about as a group.

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“That was my message straight after the game against Kilmarnock, 'I'm looking forward to the next few days because I'm going to see so much from you'. I thought our response was brilliant. We've been asked a lot of questions there today in that game and I thought we stood up to it and showed real character.”

The Jambos head coach admitted that the most pleasing thing about the performance was coming back from conceding the equaliser. He said: “It's almost like their goal gave us a lift. It was quite bizarre, really. I thought we started the game very well. I thought we showed a good response from losing on Wednesday night.

“I thought we were aggressive on the front foot, we had some good moves, lots of corners, and we scored from one. We lost some energy in the second half and St Johnstone got on top of us. I thought St Johnstone played very well in the second half. The way they play causes problems and after their equaliser, you can fear the worst and start to feel sorry for yourselves.

“I have to say, the players' character was fantastic. The second goal was a great goal, and then we've had to really grind it out. Put bodies on the line, head, tackle, chase, block, and that shows that we're capable of winning ugly games, which is a big step forward for us.”

He did also address the fact his team’s performance level dropped after the break, saying: “I just think our energy died a little bit in the game. It was hard for us to keep getting pressure on the ball. So, with the way that St Johnstone play, they control the middle of the pitch because of the numbers, and also, we turned the ball over as well. We didn't keep the ball well enough when we got it, so sometimes the best form of defence is attack.

“If you've got the ball, the opposition don't have the ball, and therefore they don't get to the goal. At that time, that's why we made some subs quite early, because we felt we needed to do something different and bring energy to the pitch. But other than Craigie making an unbelievable save, we've been quite comfortable, really. They've got a lot of balls into the box, and they've been in our half, but I have to say I thought we defended the goal very, very well.”