Hearts 3 St Mirren 2

Mar 21 2011 By Colin Duncan

NO wonder Danny Lennon cut a haunted figure as he trudged disconsolately up the Tynecastle tunnel on Saturday evening. The St Mirren boss looked like a man trapped in a recurring nightmare after his side lost a costly goal in the dying minutes for the eighth time this season.

Their vulnerability at the business end of matches was once again cruelly exposed as Hearts staged a remarkable and highly-unlikely comeback.

Last weekend Aberdeen netted an injury-time equaliser to deny the Buddies a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals and, seven days on, Rudi Skacel struck in the dying seconds to secure a 3-2 triumph for Hearts.

An exasperated Lennon questioned his players' bottle in the aftermath and he has every right to because St Mirren have been serial chokers this term.

Just as they should have put Aberdeen to the sword, they should have been out of sight by half-time in Gorgie.

But so prolific have they been at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, opposition teams know they are never out of it.

Hearts deserve credit for showing such resolve after a dire first 45 minutes although Ryan Stevenson, whose introduction on the hour mark changed the course of a one-sided contest, admitted St Mirren's mental frailties gave them hope when all seemed lost.

Stevenson said: "I was sitting in the house last weekend watching their game with Aberdeen and you knew what was coming. When Paul Hartley got the free-kick and it went into the box I turned to my wife and said, 'The Dons are going to score'.

"Sure enough the ball broke in the box and they did.

"It does prey on your mind. The more it happens, the more you start to think about it. It becomes a vicious circle. "When you know you have lost goals in the last few minutes then there is every chance it will happen again. "It was good for us but Danny will want to address that for Saints. "Teams will automatically get a lift from knowing what has happened to them. When it comes to the last 10 minutes and they are 1-0 down they'll know they are still in the game.

"If you know a side is prone to losing goals at the end then it does spur you on.

"And it will be in the St Mirren players' minds as well. Every time the ball goes forward they will be thinking, 'Let's just get this up the park'.

"Sometimes panic sets in and sure enough you get a chance."

Twice Michael Higdon had put the visitors ahead - a powerful header after 15 minutes then a sublime turn and shot into the top corner after the break.

The opener was cancelled out just after the interval when Skacel wasn't closed down and he scorched home a stunning 25-yard volley.

Stevenson restored parity for a second time nine minutes from the end when St Mirren failed to defend a throw-in and gave the sub too much space. Lennon then threw on John Potter in an attempt to shore things up, yet Stevenson believed there was an air of inevitability about Skacel's 92nd-minute winner.

There were nine Saints players and keeper Paul Gallacher in the box when Craig Thomson's delivery arrived but every one of them looked at each other as the Czech midfielder popped up at the back post to slot home.

Stevenson said: "When it went to 1-1 we were thinking, 'Let's kick on', but then Higdon scored a great goal.

"As Rudi ran by me he said, 'They concede late in games - let's keep going'.

"And it's a testament to us that we did keep going. The crowd were restless so it speaks volumes for the boys that we managed to grind out a win.

"As soon as it went to 2-2 you could start to sense what St Mirren were going to do. They brought on Potter and it looked like they were basically going to hang on for the draw. They knew we had them pushed back.

"Luckily enough, Rudi did what he does best and came up trumps."

Third place appeared a foregone conclusion for Hearts at the start of the month but two defeats on the spin before the visit of Saints put a bit of doubt in minds.

So Stevenson was relieved to stay 12 points clear of Dundee United.

He added: "This was a massive win. United and Kilmarnock are chasing us and they both had good results. It would have been close to squeaky-bum time had we lost.

"On the bus home from Tannadice on Wednesday everyone was asking how many points there were between ourselves and United.

"We knew they also had a game in hand so this was a very big day."

Player ratings: Hearts v St Mirren

Mar 21 2011

HEARTS

Marian Kello 6

Left exposed by defence but produced crucial stops.

Craig Thomson 6

Always willing to get forward. Decent shift.

Marius Zaliukas 5

All over the place. Failed to marshall defence.

Andy Webster 4

Culpable at opener and badly at faulty for second.

Ruben Palazuelos 6

One of Hearts' better performers at left-back.

IanBlack 6

Poor first half but more involved after the break.

Stephen Elliott 6

Tireless shift. Kept going and set up late equaliser.

David Obua 3

Not a man for the trenches. Hooked at half-time.

Rudi Skacel 8

Stunning volley then popped up with late winner.

David Templeton 5

Just getting into game when forced off.

Adrian Mrowiec 3

No impact and hauled off at half-time.

Subs: Andrew Driver - provided impetus, 5. Scott Robinson - made a difference, 5. Ryan Stevenson - scored cracking late leveller, 6.

ST MIRREN

Paul Gallacher 6

Amazing save denied Skacel but no chance at goals.

Marc McAusland 6

Kept it simple. No nonsense but cleared his lines well.

LeeMair 5

Gets sucked into making too many rash challenges.

Darren McGregor 6

Solid and composed until last 10 minutes.

Jure Travner 6

Nullified Hearts threat down the flank. Booked.

Steven Thomson 7

Ruled the roost in midfield and linked play superbly.

Jim Goodwin 6

Gave Saints bite in midfield but should have closed Skacel down at goal.

Aaron Mooy 6

Handed rare start and put decent balls into box.

Michael Higdon 8

Missed early sitters before scoring two fine goals.

Paul McGowan 6

Crashed stunning effort off bar but faded out of it.

Kenny McLean 6

Another fine display from a decent prospect.

Subs: Gareth Wardlaw - got last 15 minutes, 3. John Potter - thrown on at death, 1.

MEN WHO MATTER

JIM JEFFERIES

Half-TIME rant worked the oracle. Threw on Driver and Robinson for the woeful Obua and Mrowiec at the break and the changes worked a treat as his side staged a stunning comeback. 7

DANNY LENNON

Looked a broken man at the final whistle after watching his team concede at the death for the eighth time this season, having put so much into the game and ending up with nothing fromit. 6

VERDICT

Saints were terrific and should have been out of sight by the break. But even after retaking the lead in the second half their mental frailties resurfaced to allow Hearts to snatch an undeserved win.

MAN IN BLACK

Stephen Finnie handled proceedings well at Tynecastle and allowed a terrific game to flow whenever possible. 7

Taken from the Daily Record