Heart of Midlothian 1-0 St Mirren

From Hearts Media at the Tynecastle.

Hearts returned to winning ways thanks to a wonder strike from Danny Grainger, which helped secure a 1-0 win over St Mirren in front of a sell-out home support at Tynecastle on Saturday.

The Jambos were in control for the majority of the tie, but it took until midway through the second half for them to break the deadlock as Grainger rattled the ball into the top corner from 25 yards out.

Academy graduates Dylan McGowan and Jamie Walker were handed their first senior starts for the club, the former having impressed as a substitute at Inverness last week whilst Walker's midweek hat-trick for the U20 earned him all the plaudits.

Tynecastle was a cauldron of noise as the teams emerged from the tunnel, with maroon scarves waving in all four corners of the stadium as 'Hey Jude' blared out from the PA system.

With the Gorgie faithful in full voice, the boys in maroon set out to deliver on the pitch as they pressed the Paisley side from the off.

Jamie Walker sent a close range bullet header straight into the arms of Craig Samson after an inviting cross from Darren Barr on the right, before Grainger saw a long range free kick cleared off the line in what was the best chance of a first half short on goal scoring opportunities.

The visitors rarely threatened the Jambos backline as the home side continued to push forward after the interval, but found it increasingly difficult to make inroads against a solid St Mirren defence.

Just after the hour mark, however, Hearts won a free kick on the right hand side of the Saints box. Substitute Arvydas Novikovas laid the ball off to Grainger who struck a wonderful shot, aided by a slight deflection, which flew into the top left corner.

Danny Lennon's men pushed forward in numbers during the latter stages, but it was the home side who could have put the tie to bed when substitute Andy Driver raced clear only to poke his effort inches wide of Samson's far post.

The visitors forced some corners in the dying minutes, but Hearts held on to seal three crucial points in front of a tremendous, sell-out home support.

Hearts: Macdonald; R.McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger; Paterson (Novikovas 61), Barr, D.McGowan, Walker (Driver 75), Holt (Taouil 85); Stevenson. Subs not used: Enckelman, Sutton, B.King, G.Smith.

St Mirren: Samson, Van Zanten, Mair (Robertson 72), McAusland, Dummett; Reilly (Imrie 70), Goodwin, McLean, Carey, Teale (Parkin 70); Thompson. Subs not used: Smith, Barron, McGinn, Brady.

Referee: Bobby Madden

Top man: The tremendous home support

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