POISONED CHALICE!

ST MIRREN 2

HEARTS 2

ONE captain missing, the stand-in skipper sent off and the rest of the team looking less than keen to take the armband as he trudged off.

This kind of chaos could only be a script in the great Hearts soap opera.

With Steven Pressley sensationally suspended by club bosses it seemed Elvis would be the only talking point on a day when the Jambos stretched a miserable run without a win to NINE games.

But Paul Hartley's 74th-minute dismissal for a stupid second yellow card, kicking out at St Mirren's Hugh Murray off-the-ball, seemed to expose the level of disillusionment within the ranks that threatens to blow this season apart.

As Hartley walked off he offered the armband to keeper Craig Gordon - but was met with the sort of unwelcome body language that suggested he'd rather take a plate of sushi from a KGB spy.

In the end Robbie Neilson picked it up after Hartley tossed it towards him.

Afterwards Hearts' PR machine ground into action with a Saturday night phone call issuing a denial that Gordon refused the armband.

They claim amidst the chaos of a match reaching boiling point Gordon paused to consider Neilson deserved the "honour" more than him because he's served at the club longer.

Watch the telly pictures and judge for yourself.

But what's not up for debate is that Hearts continue to suffer from Vladimir Romanov's madcap management and the stats - four points from a possible 18 in their last nine games - is grinding them down on and off the pitch.

Yet despite the worst possible build-up Hearts got off to the best possible start with a goal in just 19 seconds.

Edgaras Jankauskas dinked a neat ball over the top for Saulius Mikoliunas sneaking forward and the Lithuanian got the crucial touch to slip it past Tony Bullock.

But any thoughts of the visitors breezing to an easy win were quickly demolished by the wrecking ball of a fired-up St Mirren side eager to stop their own slide down the table.

In fact the Buddies could have answered back with FIVE goals if they'd taken their chances in the following 20 minutes.

They had to settle for two as the fragility of a Jambos back four robbed of its inspirational leader was mercilessly exposed.

Ibrahim Tall, standing in for Elvis beside Christophe Berra, lacks the commanding presence of the skipper and looked at fault for the second of Saints' first-half goals. But the alarm bells were ringing long before Hearts' goal was breached.

The home side should have hit back within three minutes of the opener when stand-in skipper Hartley was mugged on the edge of the box by Garry Brady, who squared for Simon Lappin to blast a great chance miles over.

Then Gordon came to his side's rescue as John Sutton's header fell for Stewart Kean who rattled a low shot that was brilliantly saved at close range.

The Scotland keeper followed up with another superb save to beat away Kirk Broadfoot's header and Hearts counter punch - Andrius Velicka sending Jankauskas clean through only to have his shot saved -only delayed the inevitable.

The leveller came in the 19th minutes when Sutton muscled out Tall in the air to head down perfectly into the path of Kean to curl home a shot.

It was no more than they deserved too but Saints weren't finished and stormed forward again to make their dominance count within three minutes.

It was a lovely swift passing move and the impressive Brady made the telling through-ball that sent Kean skipping into the box before tucking a classy low shot past the closing keeper.

Berra paid the price for the two lost goals, hooked in 24 minutes for Marius Zaliukas before goal hero Kean picked up an injury and made way for Billy Mehmet.

How Hearts must have been glad to see the back of the nippy striker.

David Van Zanten, Hartley and Neil McCann all copped bookings in a hard-fought half and Velicka had a goal chopped for offside before blasting a sitter straight at the keeper.

But these were signs of the visitors taking control and early in the second half they hauled themselves level.

Van Zanten was lucky his foul on McCann didn't earn him a second yellow - but Hartley whipped in a wicked free-kick and Zaliukas nipped in ahead of Bullock to nod home into a gaping net.

Hartley should have known better than the senseless trip that led to his late sending off but the visitors held on.

Saints boss Gus MacPherson said: "I want to praise my team for their character after going down after 20 seconds."

REF WATCH

CHARLIE RICHMOND faced the wrath of both sets of fans - and rightly so. It was an infuriating display punctuated by too many bad calls. But he was correct to dismiss Hartley. Rating: 5/10.

St MIRREN V HEARTS

MATCH STATS

SHOTS ON 6

SHOTS OFF 5

OFFSIDE 3

FOULS 16

CORNERS 5

BOOKINGS 3

SHOTS ON 8

SHOTS OFF 4

OFFSIDE 4

FOULS 15

CORNERS 5

BOOKINGS 4

Taken from the Sunday Mail