Hearts lack guile to cut open stubborn Saints

Against opponents who strung five men across midfield and sought to fracture any rhythm in the home side's play, Hearts became increasingly reliant on a long-ball strategy they hoped their power play might exploit. Although bigger and stronger than a side battling against relegation, Hearts were no more dogged than St Mirren, who defended the aerial bombardment with assurance.

While much is made of the unpredictability of Hearts' team selections, the squad rotation policy can't disguise the fact that under coach Valdas Ivanauskas the team play pretty much the same way week-in, week-out. They field a 4-4-2 formation with two wide men in midfield which plays the game long to a big striker and hopes to feed off the second ball.

When the ploy works, it can be effective enough. In the first half, a long kick towards Michal Pospisil was knocked back towards Andrius Velicka. Spotting that Chris Smith was off his line, the Lithuanian forward struck a terrific first-time volley from 25 yards which the St Mirren goalkeeper did well to tip over the bar. Velicka was Hearts' liveliest forward, and Gus MacPherson, the St Mirren manager, admitted delight when the player didn't appear for the second half.

Too often, of course, the blunt nature of Hearts' attacking style is unproductive. This is a team intent on breaking the door down with a sledge-hammer rather than picking the lock. Apart from the impressive Kingston, who looks clever on the ball and shrewd at set-pieces, Hearts don't vary their play much and squander a lot of possession.

Perhaps it was inevitable after finishing second in the SPL last season, when Tynecastle was a veritable fortress, that Hearts' opponents in 2006-07 would utilise the same tactics in Gorgie which they traditionally employ at Celtic Park and Ibrox. Faced with the challenge of breaking down well-organised defensive units, however, has found Hearts wanting.

Of the 15 games Hearts have played at Tynecastle in the SPL this season, eight of those fixtures have either been lost or drawn. In other words, their win-ratio is less than one in two. No other side in the top six has lost as many home games, five, as Hearts. The statistics prove the dependence on route one isn't working on home turf.

Interestingly, Hearts are more effective away from home in the SPL where their only losses have been at Celtic and Rangers. When teams come at them, Hearts are better equipped to play on the break. It goes without saying, mark you, that any club intent on competing in the Champions League can hardly afford to drop seven points in three games against St Mirren.

Not since Edgaras Jankauskas and Velicka started three games together in early December have Hearts used the same strike force in successive fixtures, leaving the team short of a true partnership.

Since only Velicka is in double figures for the season with ten goals and no midfield player has been able to match the scoring feats of Rudi Skacel and Paul Hartley last year, what must have struck majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov on a rare visit to Tynecastle on Saturday was how much Hearts lack a quick and prolific finisher.

In a different era, Hearts might have looked at someone like Motherwell's Scott McDonald, noted for his 11 league goals for a side which creates far fewer scoring opportunities than the Tynecastle club, and reacted accordingly. Instead, the never ending supply of loan players from Kaunas has reduced the quality of the team to the point where dropped points against St Mirren are no longer surprising. While MacPherson's men have struggled to win league games of late, they opened up the Hearts defe
nce with relative ease after 14 minutes. From a long throw, Stewart Kean glanced the ball towards Garry Brady. His clever pass to O'Donnell caught Christophe Berra ball-watching. Although the defensive lapse gave St Mirren a chance, O'Donnell's switch from right foot to left and timely strike into the roof of the net was well executed and gave Craig Gordon no chance.

Otherwise, the returning Scotland goalkeeper didn't have much to do other than launch a series of hopeful punts with his left boot up the field. Up against a lone striker, Kean, Hearts improved after left-back Takis Fyssas went off and Julien Brellier came on for the last half an hour. Eventually Kingston, the little Ghanian midfielder, contributed a 71st-minute free-kick worthy of Hartley at his best. Kingston apart, there weren't enough other flashes of inspiration from a side short of quality in a number of positions.

Taken from the Scotsman