Hearts 3 St Mirren 2

Mar 20 2011 Gordon Waddell, Sunday Mail
hearts Image 2

hearts Image 2

JIM JEFFERIES lost it. Hearts won it.

The Jambos finally shook off their third-place jitters, twice coming from behind to win their first game in four with Rudi Skacel's 93rd-minute winner.

But not before their manager had delivered a half-time dressing-room apocalypse on a side making stupid mistakes and sliding out of control back towards the chasing pack.

St Mirren should have had the game out of sight at the break, the first of Michael Higdon's double scant reward for 45 minutes of total dominance.

Despite bouncing back from Skacel's first leveller to lead again, though, Saints' eternal late curse struck as sub Ryan Stevenson and his Czech mate scraped three crucial points.

Jefferies said: "Billy Brown and I lost it at half-time. How we were only one down I'll never know. We were sloppy, edgy, nervous, giving balls away, passing it straight out the park - if it hadn't been for two great saves we'd have been well behind.

"We know St Mirren have a track record of losing late goals and we knew luck could desert them again.

"There was a fear of throwing away third place if we just accepted things going the way they were but I praised them for their response."

The win means the gap over Dundee United stays at a comfortable 12 points with eight games to go.

It could have been so different though. With one point from their previous nine you'd have thought Hearts would have started with a blue flame in a bid to reignite their form. You'd have been wrong.

And they should have been behind inside 60 seconds, Higdon easing over Andy Webster to win Aaron Mooy's cross inside the six-yard box only to gift Marian Kello the save to his left.

Higdon then passed up another dream chance in the eighth minute, fluffing a shot from six yards that Steven Thomson had teed up. The Scouser made amends for the misses not long after, though.

Kenny McLean's deep free-kick caught Andy Webster ducking under it, thinking the ball was drifting out but Darren McGregor back-doored him to nod it into the mix and Higdon's header made it over the line. And Hearts should have been two behind before half-time.

Twice inside 30 seconds Paul McGowan deserved a break, his first-time effort smashing high off Kello's left-hand post before a beautifully-timed volley on the drop almost knocked the Slovakian keeper off his feet as he beat it past the post.

The closest the Jambos came was in injury time when Stephen Elliott whipped in a great cross only to see David Obua waiting and watching while the excellent McGregor cleared.

The fact the Ugandan never reappeared after the break was no surprise. Whether he was still in one piece was open for debate. Andy Driver and Scott Robinson checked into the game, Adrian Mrowiec the other victim, and Jefferies had clearly touched a nerve.

As St Mirren's pressing tailed off, Skacel took advantage of the first space he'd found all day to smash in a fine leveller from 25 yards.

The Buddies looked like their race was run but from nowhere Higdon fired them back in front with a stunner. Mooy laid him in, the big striker rolled Webster on the edge of the box and his left-foot shot was unstoppable.

With eight minutes left, though, Hearts delivered a dagger to Danny Lennon when Stevenson lost his man with the run and blasted a left-foot shot in from eight yards.

Worse was to come though.

Thomson's 93rd-minute corner was helped on by Robinson and Skacel forced the ball home at the back post for the winner.

Stevenson said: "I did the smart thing at half-time and stayed out on the park warming up. I've never seen the gaffer move as quickly as when he went up that tunnel."

Man of the match

Rudi Skacel

DESPITE a poor first half, Skacel's double made his contribution priceless. Five of his 11 goals this season have come against Saints.

Taken from the Daily Record