Hearts show their mettle to see off buddies

COLLEEN PATERSON
Hearts 3 - 2 St Mirren
ROMAN ROMANOV spent last week trying to convince fans that corruption and match fixing are the reasons their side are playing bottom-six football this season.
But, while he was posted missing from Tynecastle on Saturday, the Hearts players were busy proving that the only way to get ahead in this game is to roll your sleeves up and get stuck in.

Inconsistency and a lack of fighting spirit blighted their early-season performances but Stephen Frail has helped to stem the flow of points since his appointment as interim head coach in January.

And with grit, determination, a slice of fortune and a touch of real class, they battled their way to three points that may not mean much in terms of this league championship – but may bode well for the next one.

The Jambos fell behind to a Ryan McCay strike inside the opening 20 minutes at Tynecastle but hit back through a deflected Eggert Jonsson effort just eight minutes later.

They edged in front through Gary Glen, who was making his full home debut and, when Gary Mason pulled the visitors level, it was left to Larry Kingston to curl a beauty of a free-kick high into the net to earn his side a hard-fought three points.

Frail admitted that it was a match that Hearts may well have lost earlier in the season and praised his players for the way they have reacted since missing out on the top half of the table. He said: "We were delighted to win, although it is obviously not the sequence of fixtures that we would have wanted. We wanted to be in the top six but we are not and now we just have to get on with it.

"The AGM is nothing to do with us, We will concentrate on the football side of things. The guys have been terrific since the Kilmarnock game, which was a huge disappointment.

"They have picked themselves up since then. A lot of people will be watching to see how our players react in the final five games and I think they reacted in the right way on Saturday.

"They were a goal down and probably earlier in the season they would have lost that game.

"People talk about the heart and the character in this team or the lack of respect for the manager but I think that they showed on Saturday that they will do everything to finish on as high a note as possible."

Glen and right-back Jason Thomson were both on from the start as Frail tries to build a side capable of turning their fortunes around in time for next season

The game was only 20 minutes old when Saints opened the scoring, Garry Brady sliding the ball into the feet of McCay who took a couple of steps before lashing it beyond the helpless Steve Banks from almost 25 yards. It was just the start Hearts didn't need but the deficit stood for only eight minutes as the ball broke to Jonsson and the Icelander's deflected effort caught out Saints keeper Mark Howard.

It looked like it would stay that way until half-time, only for Glen to add his name to the scoresheet four minutes before the break.

His contribution merited the strike as he collected from Saul Mikoliunas and raced towards the visitors' goal. His first effort was brilliantly blocked by Howard but the keeper could only palm the ball straight back to Glen and this time the youngster made no mistake and slotted home.

The Buddies refused to throw in the towel, however, and levelled with 13 minutes remaining when Mason unleashed a brilliant, dipping effort from just outside the box that looped over Banks' head and into the net.

However the Jambos got the reward their determination merited and it was a stunning strike from Kingston after Mason had chopped down Mikoliunas 20 yards from goal.

The Ghana international stepped up and sent a beautiful curling effort into the net from the dead ball, high to the keeper's left-hand side. It was a peach of a goal but one of the biggest positives to come out of Saturday's battling performance was the contribution of young Glen who scored one, set up another and generally caused a real nuisance of himself with the Saints defenders.

He covered every blade of grass in the 87 minutes he was on the park and proved that he was just as handy in defence as attack, sliding in with an inch-perfect challenge on Andy Dorman just as the St Mirren midfielder was about to pull the trigger.

It was an accomplished and assured performance from the youngster and Frail was more than happy. "Gary is a good player," he said. "When I was taking the 19s he was just in the 17s and I was struggling to leave him out of the 19s and he scored in his first start.

"A lot of big clubs, including Manchester United, were courting his signature when he came here but he chose us and I think he has shown that he is a clever player, he has got good movement and touch.

"He should probably have scored with his first touch but he was bright enough to follow it in and get the finish in the end. He had a big smile on his face in the dressing room after the game."

Glen left the pitch to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Jamie Mole three minutes from time at Tynecastle and the young frontman was clearly delighted with his inclusion in the starting line-up.

It was his first start for the Gorgie club, having come on as a substitute against Dundee United a year ago, aged just 16.

He certainly looks a good prospect for the future and Hearts fans will be desperate to see his talent nurtured following the departure of several attacking players over the last few months, notably this season's top goalscorer Andrius Velicka.

Frail is poised to give some of the younger members of his squad a run in the team over the remaining four games of the season as the focus now switches to building towards next season – and hopefully a return to contention for a place in Europe.

"It is a good opportunity for the young boys to come in and get a game," Glen conceded, "and I was fortunate to get that chance.

"I want to show what I can do. I have been on the bench a few times and I came off the bench against Dundee United when I was 16.

"From playing 19s and reserves to the SPL, the pace is much faster than I have been used to."

Glen, of course, has already worked closely with Frail at under-19s level, and the 18-year-old added of his manager: "He knows what kind of player I am, having worked with me in the 19s and he knows what position suits me.

"I have been training with the first
team for a while now and been on the bench on a few occasions, so it was nice to get a start."

St Mirren boss Gus MacPherson was disappointed his side lost after hauling themselves level with just 13 minutes of the match remaining – but he admitted that Kingston's class had been the deciding factor.

He said: "We were disappointed not to take something from the game, I thought that we were very comfortable in the first half and I don't think Hearts had that many chances, but we somehow found ourselves 2-1 down.

"When we got back to two each I had all these attack-minded players on. For long spells we didn't look like losing.

"It all comes down to who you are playing against and the quality that they have got. You could see that with their third goal from Laryea Kingston, I don't think there were many players out on that park who could have produced a finish like that."

Taken from the Scotsman