St Mirren 0-1 Hearts

Ten-man Hearts secured a vital victory over St Mirren in a controversial encounter at Love Street.

The first half was largely forgettable until Michael Stewart apparently kicked Saints' Hugh Murray on 41 minutes.

Referee Mike McCurry missed the incident, but fourth official Bobby Madden signalled to the referee and Hearts man Stewart saw red.

However, the Edinburgh side snatched the points when Eggert Jonsson headed home Andrew Driver's free-kick.

Hearts kicked off and immediately went on the attack through Christian Nade.

The burly Frenchman did well to get away from Murray in the middle of the park, but his long-range left-footed shot was easily taken by St Mirren goalkeeper Mark Howard.

Seven minutes later, Saints responded with an effort of their own, although Haining missed the target with his header from Steven Robb's corner.

While Hearts were more composed in their build-up play, the Buddies looked dangerous on the counter-attack and they nearly caught the Tynecastle side off guard in the 16th minute.

Robb charged upfield and the ball eventually found its way through to Gary Mason on the edge of the box, but the midfielder was tackled by Lee Wallace just as he was about to pull the trigger.

Hearts were dealt a blow in the 28th minute when Saulius Mikoliunas was forced off injured with an apparent knee problem.

Robbie Neilson, who was due to feature for the reserves next week, came off the bench to make his first appearance since April following stomach and ankle injuries.

Franco Miranda then went close for the home side with a shot from outside the box that bounced just past Janos Balogh's post.

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Tempers flared at the tail-end of the first half when Stewart and Murray were involved in an off-the-ball tussle after the former had passed the ball to team-mate Driver on the wing.

Although McCurry and his assistants apparently failed to witness the incident, the referee - after a long delay - brandished a red card to Stewart after consulting with fourth official Bobby Madden.

Stewart's sending off could have influenced St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson's decision to replace Garry Brady with the more attack-minded Andy Dorman at the interval.

Winger Dorman made his presence felt immediately to create a great chance for Billy Mehmet in the 48th minute.

Dennis Wyness flicked on Dorman's pass to Mehmet in the box, but the striker hit his shot wide with only Balogh to beat, although his blushes were spared by the assistant referee's flag.

St Mirren, with their numerical advantage, predictably enjoyed the lion's share of possession at the start of the second period.

However, Bruno Aguiar, in a rare Hearts attack, flashed a shot wide of the post from outside the area.

The Portuguese playmaker was afforded space again on the edge of the box in the 64th minute. But, after receiving a pass from Ruben Palazuelos, his effort floated over the bar.

With St Mirren failing to conjure up any clear-cut chances in front of goal, strikers Jim Hamilton and Craig Dargo were introduced to the action.

Large gaps began opening up all over the field as time ran out, encouraging Hearts winger Driver to go on lung-busting runs, although those forays amounted to nothing.

Against all odds, however, Hearts took the lead in the 79th minute after Eggert Jonsson bulleted Driver's free-kick low into the net from close range.

Neilson won the set-piece on the far side and Driver's teasing delivery was met in a congested box by the Iceland international.

St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson: "We're extremely disappointed. We've certainly not done enough to win the game, but that was probably Hearts' only effort on goal.

"That's the sucker punch that if you give away free-kicks in that area that they're going to punish you.

"Even the overall performance, especially in the second half, never got up to the levels we've set.

"We never passed the ball well enough - that's what it's all about at this level of football.

Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo: "The performance was great. If you talk about the second winning game from home, it is very important, but the most important is the team, who showed character.

"Losing a player from the field was very heavy for the team, but in the dressing room we used the time to organise.

"I didn't see the incident - I only saw that the two players collided.

"Tomorrow we have recovery training and video analysis and we'll see what happened."

St Mirren: Howard, Miranda, Haining, Potter, Ross, Mason, Murray, Brady (Dorman 46), Robb, Mehmet (Dargo 71), Wyness (Hamilton 62).
Subs Not Used: Smith, McAusland, McGinn, McShane.

Hearts: Balogh, Lee Wallace, Thomson, Berra, Palazuelos, Aguiar, Driver (Obua 90), Jonsson, Stewart, Mikoliunas (Neilson 27), Nade (Mole 81).
Subs Not Used: Kello, Makela, Templeton, Rapnik.

Sent Off: Stewart (42).

Goals: Jonsson 79.

Att: 4,192

Ref: M McCurry.

Taken from the BBC