Paulo Sergio frustrated by more costly mistakes as McInnes praises Sandaza for his 'swagger and ability'

Published Date: 26 September 2011
By Stuart Bathgate
HEARTS manager Paulo Sergio said his team needed to stop shooting themselves in the foot after a goal in either half from Cillian Sheridan gave St Johnstone a 2-0 win over the Tynecastle side yesterday.
Sergio argued that his team had played some decent football, but had handicapped themselves with a first-half lapse which allowed Francisco Sandaza to play in Sheridan for the opening goal, then compounded the felony after the break when the same two players combined for the second.

"We tried to play and make our game, and we defended well (against] their kind of game with long balls behind us and big guys in front," Sergio said. "I think we should have done better in the first half with the ball, but second half we were moving better - but we made a second mistake.

"Our goalkeeper didn't make a save all game, but we lost two goals with things we were giving to our opponents. It's not the first time and that is worrying me a lot. You can't win games when you're giving goals away like we're doing. We were giving our opponents confidence and we have to stop that."

The manager's assessment of how well his team were playing further up the park would be disputed by many, but he was right to criticise his defence, who lost two league goals for the first time this season. He appeared to single out Andy Webster for the shortcomings at the back, taking the centre-half off at half-time in a reshuffle which saw David Templeton come on in midfield.

"I didn't find he was (playing] very well in the game," Sergio said of Webster. "I put Adrian (Mrowiec] in the position to have a more technical midfield, to play better the ball."

Once Sheridan's second had gone in there was no way back for Hearts, but Sergio preferred to highlight his team's patient approach work rather than the lack of direct chances they created. "Maybe we have more than 60 per cent possession, but that's not enough," he added. "We have to score. We are putting ourselves under pressure with mistakes."

St Johnstone manager Derek McInnes was a happy man after seeing his team continue their good run of form. Saints had previously enjoyed excellent victories Celtic and Motherwell on the road, but this was their first three points of the season at McDiarmid Park, and one which McInnes believed was due to a solid all-round team effort.

"I thought we thoroughly deserved the win," said McInnes, whose team will go clear of Hearts in fourth with a point or better at Easter Road on Wednesday. "Once we got the first goal there was an element of control to what we were doing. Hearts played in and around us but never got through us at any time, and we stopped their better players from having an effect on the game. I think Hearts will be the third team in the SPL again this season - I think they're the best equipped to do it - so it was no mean feat to beat them.

To do that we had to work very hard, and I thought the team were excellent.

"We were clinical at one end, and hard-working, dogged and resilient throughout. I'm delighted to come away with three points."

Both goals were scored by Sheridan, in his second spell with the club, and created by Sandaza. "Big Fran has been getting a lot of the plaudits, and rightly so," McInnes added. "He brings a swagger and an ability to us up the top end. But he'll be first to acknowledge how hard Cillian has been working. He occupies defenders.

"It's a decent two to work with. Both have presence, both have the ability to score goals, both have a bit of pace about them. We've worked with Cillian before. It took him a wee while to get going the last time, but once he did he got on a good run of goals, and I'm hoping that will be the same again."

Taken from the Scotsman