Three weeks after beating St Mirren with 10 men at Tynecastle, Hearts succumbed in Paisley after another red card against the same opponents. The visiting defender Craig Halkett was ordered off on 29 minutes for denying St Mirren debutant Jacob Devaney a clear goalscoring opportunity. It was the fifth league game in succession involving Hearts where a red card has been issued, and Miguel Freckleton’s late header gave St Mirren three points.
Hearts beat both Dundee and Saints with 10 men in January and Halkett’s dismissal left them with another uphill battle they could have done without. They again rose to the challenge in a feisty and competitive affair and held firm for much of the match. However, Freckleton rose to head home substitute Conor McMenamin’s corner and secure a vital win for the hosts - easing some pressure as they moved away from the Scottish Premiership’s relegation zone. It was their first victory in nine games since they beat Livingston on 20 December.
The result leaves Hearts still six points clear at the top of the table, although their main rivals, Celtic and Rangers, are due to play on Wednesday evening. They will sense a chance to close the gap on the league leaders, but the tenacity and spirit shown in this performance proved Hearts won’t be reeled in without a major fight. To compound the misery for the Tynecastle club, Halkett is now suspended for next week’s Edinburgh derby against Hibs as a consequence of his red card.
Midfielder Beni Baningime was reinstated by McInnes after a two-games suspension, with Michael Steinwender replacing Jordi Altena at right-back. St Mirren gave Manchester United loanee Devaney his first outing in midfield. When the game began, the hosts frequently missed midfielders out to send long balls to their imposing forwards Mikael Mandron and Dan Nlundulu. The Hearts defence, consequently, had to deal with repeated aerial challenges.
Indeed, the evening’s first meaningful save came from Hearts goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow as he touched Mandron’s powerful drive away for a corner. The German was called upon again to push Alex Gogic’s swirling cross out from under his crossbar. St Mirren looked the more threatening team in the opening 30 minutes, largely due to that aggressive and direct approach.
They gained a notable advantage on 29 minutes when Hearts were reduced to 10 men. Stuart Findlay’s poor touch allowed Mandron to seize the ball 30 yards from goal before Findlay recovered quickly to challenge. The ball broke and Halkett slid in to stop Nlundulu shooting. The centre-back then reacted instantly to challenge for the next loose ball, but succeeded only in tripping Devaney after the Irishman arrived at pace to touch the ball into the penalty area. Having denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, Halkett was instantly dismissed by referee Steven McLean.
Schwolow produced a vital save when Killian Phillips lashed the resultant free-kick goalwards from just outside the area. He then denied same player after a 25-yard attempt minutes later. Harry Milne breifly took the Hearts captain’s armband until Frankie Kent came on in place of winger Alexandros Kyziridis and became his team’s third skipper of the night. The substitution was designed to shore up the visitors’ back line in what was now a fluid 4-3-2 formation.
St Mirren smelled blood. Gogic’s header from Declan John’s free-kick bounced off Schwolow’s right post for Marcus Fraser to nod home, only for an offside flag to kill his celebrations. Saints then had a penalty award rescinded after VAR ruled Milne’s foul on Jayden Richardson took place just outside the box instead of inside. It had been a chaotic first 45 minutes and Hearts looked relieved to reach the interval still level at 0-0.
Schwolow was called upon quickly after the restart to block Mandron’s deflected effort at the back post following Gogic’s cross. Hearts had shunted into a three-man defence for the second half, with Oisin McEntee and Milne as wing-backs. Baningime and Marc Leonard remained in midfield with forwards Landry Kabore and Claudio Braga shuttling between midfield and attack. It was their job to run channels and draw fouls, which both men did admirably.
The visitors stayed compact in a 5-3-1 shape out of possession but were quick to spring forward on the counter-attack using Kabore and Braga’s pace. The St Mirren support began to grow frustrated midway through the second period as their team probed and pressed to break Hearts down. It took until the 88th minute for a breakthrough as Frecklton headed home from a corner-kick, leaving the othewise-excellent Schwolow helpless.
Here are the Hearts player ratings from Paisley:
