Hearts cash in as Saints self destruct

It all sounds good, but precious little of it was. For the question that hung in the air after the Tynecastle men teased out the victory that keeps the upwardly-galloping Dundee United 12 points behind them in fourth place - albeit, with a game in hand - was to what extent the slender success was handed to them. The answer to that one is to a very great, nay a humungous extent. Revealingly, Stevenson talked of Skacel plotting the Paisley club's late demise just as the visitors seemed to be perfectly placed to bring about their opponents'.

As the Hearts players made their way back to the own half after a brilliant blaster of a shot on the turn from Michael Higdon with 69 minutes gone had seemed to undo an equally sumptuous long-range angled striker from the Skacel that made it 1-1, Skacel gave Stevenson a pep talk. "Rudi ran by me and said that they concede goals near the end of the game, so we should keep going."

No team trailing Danny Lennon's side by a single goal ever feel out of it. And their latest collapse - more acute even than normal in proving of the two-goal variety - demonstrated precisely why. A haunted Lennon despaired at the inability of his players to step up and take the responsibility for clearing their lines. Frankly, two nothing balls into the box did the damage, Stevenson equalising by pushing a shot through a crowded area following a throw-in and then Skacel doing likewise after a corner knocked back in had spread panic in a defence by this stage sporting an extra body in the form of 90th minute substitute John Potter.

And St Mirren did what they do worst. Lennon admitted the defeat made for "the worst I've felt in years; my stomach's still going".

The St Mirren manager was flummoxed as to why his team could defend so "admirably" for 87 minutes and then do so dishonourably. They have now conceded game-changing goals in the final ten minutes on eight occasions this season. Seven of these have been in the league and cost them ten points.

If they could only see games out then they could be challenging for a top-six place and in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.

For it was a 93rd-minute goal given away in the quarter-final tie at home to Aberdeen the previous Saturday that forced the midweek replay at Pittodrie they duly lost.

Stevenson felt his team deserved credit for not accepting the draw and driving on but, frankly, against Lennon's men why would you do otherwise? Jefferies likewise said he was forced to praise his players for their reaction even though they had been "so bad" in the first half that he and assistant Billy Brown "lost it" with them. The Hearts manager admitted that he wondered how on earth his side were only one down at the end of a first half in which they had been completely outplayed and regularly opened up. The reason for that was horrible misses from Higdon, who should have been completing his hat-trick when he put the Paisley club 1-0 up with a floaty header.

Jefferies believes the encounter turned on his half-time removal of utter non-entities David Oboua and Adrian Mrowiec - the former turning in such a desultory performance you recalled his pre-Jefferies tendencies to be a 'why bother' selection - in favour of Andrew Driver and youngster Scott Robinson, before Stevenson's opening came with an injury to David Templeton.

In truth, though, it was the performances of players in defensive positions adorned in black and white candy-striped jerseys that were the most significant.

However, the result was achieved, and Stevenson declared it was a "massive" one following the 2-0 defeat earlier in the week away to United. He added: "It speaks volumes for us that we won it after we hadn't played well in the first half."

And screams out what fatal flaw Lennon must resolve in his St Mirren side.

Taken from the Scotsman