Heart of Midlothian 1-2 St. Johnstone
From Hearts Media at Tynecastle.

Hearts slumped to a 2-1 home defeat to St. Johnstone on a disappointing afternoon at Tynecastle.

Liam Craig and Dave Mackay had put the Saints 2-0 up before Mehdi Taouil's long range consolation with five minutes left. Jamie Hamill missed a penalty for the Jambos with the score at 1-0. Paulo Sergio made two changes to the side that defeated Inverness. Adrian Mrowiec returned to anchor the midfield in place of David Obua, and Mehdi Taouil replaced Ryan Stevenson, who dropped to the bench.

The first real attack of the match brought a goal for St. Johnstone after only three minutes. Marian Kello came to clear the ball but Andrew Webster got there ahead of the Slovak and could only help the ball to the feet of Liam Craig, who calmly lobbed the ball over Kello and the gathered Hearts defenders in to the net.

Hearts tried to get themselves back in to the game after that early setback, although it was St. Johnstone who were next to threaten after 22 minutes

A sweeping move saw Kevin Moon cut the ball back to Haber, and Kello had to get down quickly to save the striker's well hit volley.

That was the extent of the goalmouth action of a frustrating first half for the Jambos.

Stephen Elliott replaced Andy Webster at half time, and the Irishman almost brought Hearts level immediately.

Hamill swung in a good cross from the right, and the No. 10 timed his run and jump perfectly, and was unlucky to see his header fly just wide.

St. Johnstone quickly responded in kind, Liam Craig driving narrowly over after a mix up between Jonsson and Zaliukas.

Ryan McGowan was next to try his luck, his 50th minute drive was well held by Enckelman.

Elliott came close again just before hour, his snap-shot forcing Enckelman in to a smart stop low at his left-hand post.

Hearts thought they were back in the game after being awarded a penalty after 62 minutes. John Sutton was adjudged to have been hauled down when challenging for a high ball. The celebrations were short lived however, as Jamie Hamill saw his penalty saved by Enckelman.

Things got worse for Paulo Sergio's side with 15 minutes remaining. Ryan McGowan's clearance was charged down and gave Murray Davidson an opportunity on goal. The midfielder was tripped by Eggert Jonsson, and Dave Mackay slammed the penalty home to double the Saints' lead.

Just when the game seemed to be petering out, Mehdi Taouil pulled one back with his first goal for the club, finding the top corner from around 25 yards with five minutes remaining.

Stephen Elliott was inches away from levelling in stoppage time, his hooked volley being acrobatically tipped over by Enckelman.

Ryan McGowan found himself with a late chance, but could only stab over shortly before Stevie O'Reilly blew for full time.

Hearts: Kello, Hamill (Obua, 79), Webster (Elliott, 45), Zaliukas, McGowan, Mrowiec, Jonsson, Skacel, Templeton (Stevenson, 79), Taouil, Sutton. Subs not used: MacDonald, Novikovas, Robinson, Smith.

St. Johnstone: Enckelman, Mackay, Davidson, Wright, (McCracken, 10) Anderson, Millar, Davidson, Crig, Moon, Finnigan (Maybury, 75), Haber. Subs not used: Mannus,Gibson, Durnan, May, Gray.

Referee: Stevie O'Reilly

Top man: Mehdi Taouil

Hearts World