St Mirren 2 Hearts 0

EWING GRAHAME
Published: 15th September 2012

SAINTS first home win of the season pushed them into a European place.

And that means Buddies fans of a certain age will be reliving the days when the likes of Johan Cruyff and Ruud Gullit came to Paisley.

Danny Lennon’s side are now third in the table and fully deserved this win, their first in ten meetings with the Jambos.

Saints had won just two out of their previous 11 home games but were boosted by midfielder Kenny McLean and Paul Dummet, the left-back signed on loan from Newcastle, shaking off knocks in time to start.

Hearts gave Ryan Stevenson, who returned from Ipswich seven months after leaving Tynecastle, his first start since rejoining.

And it didn’t take long for the match to heat up with Jim Goodwin booked in the first minute for a lunge at Darren Barr, although he appeared to have won the ball.

It meant a long afternoon for the Irishman who collects yellow cards like kids save Panini stickers.

Hearts had the first chance in the eighth minute, Callum Paterson heading over the bar after Arvydas Novikovas had nodded a Ryan McGowan’s ball back across goal for him.

Paterson came closer a minute later with a vicious left-foot drive which forced a fine save from Craig Samson — called into Scotland’s World Cup squad last week — at his near post. Saints came back into it, though, and Paul McGowan should have put them in front after 13 minutes.

Lewis Guy held the ball up well and then sent David van Zanten clear on the right. The full-back’s cross picked out McGowan at the far corner of the six-yard box but the former Celt’s header was weak and wide.

Paterson made it a hat-trick of misses with another sitter in the 27th minute. Novikovas got a break when van Zanten clattered a clearance against him — and he cut the ball back for his strike partner eight yards out.

A goal seemed inevitable — but Paterson took too long pulling the trigger and Dummett slid in to deflect his shot behind.

Back at the other end, Graham Carey whipped in a cross from the left, Lewis Guy got his head on it and Jamie MacDonald dived low to his right to keep it out.

However, just when it looked as though we were going to get to the break without a goal, the Buddies made the breakthrough in sensational style.

Steven Thompson did his bit by passing the ball to Goodwin 35 yards out. No-one was expecting the skipper to shoot but he did just that, blasting the ball low behind the startled McDonald.

It was Goodwin’s first goal of 2012 and a hell of a way to get off the mark. MacDonald, for his part, will probably feel that he should have done better — and he’d be right.

However, he had no reason to blame himself for Saints’ second – although a few of the players in front of him might want to offer an apology.

If Thompson would have had a cheek claiming an assist for the opener, he deserved all the plaudits going for his work in the build-up here.

Supplied by Carey, he stormed through some comedy defending until he was one-on-one with McDonald.

Any striker would have been forgiven for going for glory but the former Rangers and Scotland star looked up, saw Guy unmarked at the far post, and rolled the ball to his partner for a tap-in.

Coming right after the interval, that goal knocked the stuffing out of the Jambos, who had no answer to Thompson’s barnstorming runs.

The veteran has rolled back the years since returning to the SPL, notching a personal best goals tally last season and starting this campaign like a man possessed.

When he was replaced by Sam Parkin with nine minutes left and all three points in the bag, he thoroughly deserved his standing ovation.

Only a couple of tight offside decisions spared Hearts from falling further behind while they showed few signs of life at the business end of the pitch after the break.

The away fans screamed for a penalty when substitute John Sutton was beaten to a cross by Dummett but the striker was right not to appeal.

The Edinburgh club’s decision to allow so many experienced players to leave may have been forced on them financially.

But it’s left them a much weaker outfit and they won’t equal last season’s cup heroics on this form.