Hearts 1 St Johnstone 2

Dec 4 2011 By Rob Fairburn

SPOT-ON Dave Mackay kept his cool to win the battle of the penalties and chalk up three more vital points on the road for Saints.

He fired home a penalty just 10 minutes after watching Peter Enckelman save Jamie Hamill’s spot-kick for Hearts.

It proved crucial after Liam Craig’s third-minute opener - and Saints were able to celebrate after taking 10 points away from home against the four other top teams in the league.

Hearts had a late flurry after Mehdi Taouil’s 25-yard strike four minutes from time but could not force an equaliser.

Saints have now opened up a four-point gap to cement their place in fourth spot and Mackay believes their away form is a major factor in their success story.

The Saints skipper said: “We have now taken 10 points out of 12 away from home from the four teams around us which is a great record.

“We got a great start which was brilliant because fans can turn against their team when that happens.

“Their back four looked a bit fragile, making individual mistakes which is not like them.

“Hearts have a better defensive record than us which shows they are very strong but they all seemed to be making little errors which gave us a lift.

“It was great to score the winner and I did not feel any pressure with the penalty because I have scored a few.

“Peter has pulled off a brilliant save earlier and I don’t think Hamill has done much wrong because he hit it well.

“Liam Craig and Callum Davidson also wanted to take the penalty but I felt confident and have a pretty good record.

“Obviously, I was delighted to see the ball hit the back of the net.

“Hearts put us under pressure near the end but we showed we are a good, hard team to play against.”

And Mackay sympathised with the Hearts players’ cash-flow woes.

He said: “It is hard turning up when you are not getting paid. I’ve been through it with Dundee and Livingston and it is not nice. When you are not getting paid there is a feeling of why should you give your all. Hopefully it will be sorted out.”

Saints got off to a dream start in three minutes when Kevin Moon’s cross caused confusion between Andy Webster and keeper Marian Kello.

The ball dropped to Craig at the edge of the box and he had time to chest it down and send a lobbed volley into the empty net from 20 yards.

Frazer Wright limped off for Saints after just 10 minutes with a tweaked thigh muscle and was replaced by David McCracken.

But the Perth men could easily have been 2-0 up on the half-hour mark with Kello producing a fabulous diving save to foil Marcus Haber’s low drive.

Webster was left in the dressing-room at the interval with Stephen Elliott introduced to bolster the front-line and Adrian Mrowiec moving back.

Within seconds of the restart the Irish striker almost headed the equaliser from Taouil’s cross but the ball slipped agonisingly wide.

But Hearts were always vulnerable at the back and more slackness from skipper Marius Zaliukas was exposed by Craig who raced through before drilling a 25-yard shot just over.
Peter Enckelman penalty save

Enckelman showed some great handling to deal with efforts from Ryan McGowan and Elliott before Hearts were awarded a penalty in 66 minutes. Their main tactic all afternoon had been to play the ball up to John Sutton and it had paid little dividends.

But this time McCracken got too close and when Sutton went down in the box ref Stevie O’Reilly awarded a penalty.

Hamill has a decent record from the spot since his arrival at Tynecastle but he could only watch in horror as Enckelman produced a fine diving save to palm the ball out for a corner.

And Hearts paid the price for that miss in 77 minutes when Saints doubled their lead. McGowan made a hash of a clearance out wide and the ball went straight to Murray Davidson.

Despite feeling poorly on the night before the game, and his brother being injured in a car crash, the midfielder had put in another trademark box-to-box shift. As he powered in to the Hearts penalty area he was clipped by Eggert Jonsson and again O’Reilly pointed to the spot.

MacKay showed how to convert a penalty - and the goal signalled a mass walkout by the disillusioned home fans.

Those who stayed were treated to a fabulous consolation effort from Taouil - easily Hearts’ best player.

His glorious, curled 25-yarder set up a frantic finish as Hearts piled towards the Saints box.

The home side pumped in high balls in the hope of a break – and the pressure got to Hearts team-mates Mrowiec and Ryan Stevenson who squared up as tempers frayed.

Hearts could easily have snatched a point right at the death.

Elliott saw his point-blank shot punched over the bar by Enckelman and, with virtually the last kick, McGowan blasted over the bar.

Taken from the Daily Record