Liverpool joy a distant memory for blunt Hearts

ANDREW SMITH
Published on Monday 17 September 2012 00:00

THE moment David Templeton let fly with a shot that Pepe Reina bizarrely let squirm behind him seemed a point of renewal for Hearts.

Scorers:

St Mirren - Goodwin (38), Guy (48)

Referee: C Murray

Attendance: 4,307

The Europa League tie at Anfield just under three weeks ago was thrown wide open because new manager John McGlynn had produced a tactical masterclass with a group of players full of brio. Already, though, that night in Liverpool appears as if it happened in another lifetime.

Nothing has gone right for the Tynecastle men in the intervening 18 days. The tie was lost, Templeton followed and in the two league games since, Hearts have failed to register a goal, never mind a point. What chilled on Saturday was not so much them going 2-0 down to an energised St Mirren, but that, even though 43 minutes still remained when Lewis Guy 
netted, there never appeared the remotest possibility of the visitors staging a comeback. McGlynn may have felt his team showed effort, commitment and endeavour but they demonstrated diddly squat in the way of creative spark.

All the life – and, to be fair, there was plenty initially – was sucked out of them by the failure to convert a series of early chances. “Goals change games,” McGlynn noted afterwards. His fundamental problem is that he does not possess a game-changer in the goalscoring department. And therein lies the age-old issue causing ever more gnashing as Hearts prove ever more toothless. They have now gone 319 minutes without netting in the Scottish Premier League. Or, to put another way, haven’t scored for the latter half of this fledgling season.

“We knew we were short in the striking department from the start of the season and couldn’t get anyone in. It’s becoming a bit of a problem for us,” the Tynecastle manager said.

At the weekend McGlynn attempted to manufacture a solution from within by fielding 17-year-old Callum Paterson as his frontline focal point. The youngster “could have been a hero” but for the fact he blazed wide when the goal was at his mercy before having an effort saved by Craig Samson. Hearts wer also denied when Lee Mair blocked a goalbound shot. Apart from what he had been detailed to do, there was much to recommend in Paterson’s performance. The youngster is quick, strong and boasting craft, as his manager was quick to point out. But focusing on the good might be akin to praising a fireman who is good at all aspects of his job except putting out fires.

And, when goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald didn’t cover himself in glory in failing to prevent a 35-yard drive from Jim Goodwin fizzing past him seven minutes before the interval, Hearts’ hopes of atoning for their home defeat by Dundee in their previous encounter seemed tossed on a funeral pyre.

Any last vestiges of optimism turned to cinders two minutes into the second period. Steven Thompson, picking up possession from a cleared Hearts corner, was allowed to waltz through the visitors’ backline as if a human torch before picking out Guy to slam in. Even McGlynn was forced to admit the clincher was “a bad goal to lose”. Hearts’ last line is supposed to be their most reliable department but the pressure created by inadequacies at the other end of the pitch has the consequence of weakening even their resolve.

Such a malaise spread throughout the side. The reaction to an almighty second-goal setback was risible from the Gorgie side, however McGlynn might have sought to spin it later on. Ryan Stevenson appears there in spirit but not in body since his recent return while Andrew Driver, hooked 16 minutes from time, is a product-free zone.

A first home win of the season, following poor displays on their own patch against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hibernian, was a gleeful outcome for Danny Lennon’s men. Not least as it allowed them to slay their bogey team. They hadn’t beaten their Edinburgh opponents in the sides’ previous nine meetings. The three points earned moved St Mirren into the lofty position of third in the SPL table. However, goalscorer Goodwin, who admitted he was left “walking on eggshells” after referee Callum Murray unfairly hit him with a “stupid” booking after only two minutes, isn’t getting caught up with thoughts of staying in a European qualifying slot.

“Last season we set a target of the top half, finished eighth and everybody said ‘ach well, you didn’t really achieve what you set out to do’ when it was the highest the club had ever finished [in the SPL],” he said. “So I wouldn’t talk about Europe. We’ll try and go for sixth at the moment and anything above that would be a huge bonus.”

The way it is looking, Hearts could require to work within those same modest parameters.

Taken from the Scotsman