Heart of Midlothian 2-0 St Johnstone

Goals from Ryan Stevenson and John Sutton ensured Hearts returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over St Johnstone on Tuesday night.

Stevenson's first half strike handed the Jambos a deserved lead, before Sutton converted from close range late in the second half to secure three much needed points for the Gorgie side.

Hearts made three changes to the side that lost to Motherwell on Saturday, as Fraser Mullen, Aryvdas Novikovas and Darren Barr replaced McGowan, Walker and Tapping. Michael Ngoo and Sutton were paired together in attack once again as the Jam Tarts kept faith in their 4-4-2 system.

It was the visitors who enjoyed the brighter start, however, as Rowan Vine forced a save from Jamie Macdonald inside two minutes.

Hearts gradually settled down and looked to have taken the lead on 11 minutes, but the linesman's flag was up following Sutton's tap-in at the back post which looked to have rounded off a fine Maroon attack down the right channel.

Sutton then found himself one on one with Alan Mannus shortly after, but the keeper got out quickly to block the Englishman's
attemped lob after a fine through ball courtesy of Mehdi Taouil.

The sustained pressure soon paid off, however, as Arvydas Novikovas broke down the left flank and teed up Michael Ngoo who saw his effort blocked by Mannus. Stevenson, however, timed his run to perfection and was on hand to guide the loose ball into the empty net.

The goal was no less than the Jambos deserved and Ngoo nearly added a second minutes later when he outmuscled his marker before forcing a save from Mannus on his near post.

The Liverpool player was at the heart of every Maroon attack for the remainder of the half as his pace and direct style saw him put the keeper to the test on several occasions, most notably when he rounded the shot stopper only to see his effort cleared off the line.

The second half continued along the same lines as Hearts found themselves camped in the Saints half for long periods, with the visitors unable to play out of defence thanks to constant pressure from Sutton and Ngoo.

The latter fired a volley inches wide of the left post shortly after the hour mark, whilst Murray Davidson glanced a header wide up the other end.

Substitue Gregory Tade then looked odds on to find the back of the net as he met David Mackay's cross on the back post, but Captain Andy Webster was on hand to clear his header off the line.

With eight minutes remaining, however, Hearts put the game to bed thanks to some excellent pressure from Ngoo. The striker
dispossessed a Saints defender on the right side of the box before racing to the byline and cutting an inch perfect pass across the goal line, enabling Sutton to seal the win with a close range tap-in.

A late Murray Davidson header then looked to have handed the Saints a lifeline, but the linesman's flag for offside ended any hopes of a comeback.

Hearts duly held on to secure a much needed victory and now look ahead to Sunday's Edinburgh derby at Easter Road.

Hearts: Macdonald; Mullen, Webster, Wilson, McHattie; Stevenson, Barr, Taouil (Holt 76), Novikovas (Walker 64); Sutton (G.Smith 86), Ngoo. Subs not used: Ridgers, Prychynenko, Tapping, Carrick.

St Johnstone: Mannus; Mackay, Wright (Anderson 45), McCracken, C. Davidson; Abeid (Tade 39), M. Davidson, Cregg, Craig; McLean, Vine (Hasselbaink 61). Subs not used: Tuffey, Millar, Caddis, Edwards.

Referee: John Beaton

Top man: Michael Ngoo

Hearts World