St Johnstone 1 Hearts 0 : Jambos lose to Saints but huge support gives Gary Locke hope

Hugh Keevins

5 Aug 2013 12:12

HUGH KEEVINS reports from McDiarmid Park where the massive travelling support gave Hearts boss Gary Locke encouragement as the club struggles on and off the pitch.

GARY LOCKE got nothing out of his day in Perth except the feeling that the Hearts support are going to bring an old cliche to life this season and be his club's twelfth man.

A Stevie May goal in the first half won the match for the home side and Hearts didn't manage to fashion an attempt at goal in the second 45 minutes.

But there were more Hearts fans then home supporters inside McDiarmid Park and Locke couldn't underestimate their importance.

Nearly 4000 made the trip from Edinburgh and Saints will now hand over £1 for every one of them who turned up.

Locke said: "This club wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the fans and the money they've put in.

"There'll be other days when they make the difference between winning and losing for us.

"They're worth everything to us and they'll make sure we don't let our heads go down and start to feel sorry for ourselves.

"But we've got to do more to help ourselves. There wasn't a lot happening for us in the final third of the pitch and we've got to remember that if you don't shoot you're never going to score.

"But I'm not going to make excuses. We didn't create enough openings and we lost a poor goal.

"I'm going to say I thought it was offside but I spoke to the referee afterwards and he feels he got the decision right. I'm not going to make a fuss about it."

But the make-up of the crowd was something worthy of attention.

They might have been well beaten but, don't laugh, you can now mention Hearts and Barcelona in the same breath without inviting ridicule.

Hearts are, like the Catalans, more than a club. They've become a crusade for every maroon-clad man, woman and child.

The doors had to be opened earlier than usual at McDiarmid Park to cope with the travelling support, which was nearly
4000-strong in a crowd of 6174 and spread throughout the ground.

Segregation had to take second place to the avoidance of crowd congestion as the Hearts following embraced the cause of seeing what emotional commitment could do to compensate for the ravages of administration and a transfer embargo.

Only three of Gary Locke's starting line-up, Jamie MacDonald, Jamie Hamill and Ryan Stevenson, were over the age of 21.

But there was no immaturity about the team's performance as they initially kept the Perth side at bay.

Danny Wilson and Brad McKay were resolute in central defence as St Johnstone opened the match clearly still on a high from their Europa League win over FC Minsk in Belarus.

Saints will donate a pound from the admission money paid by every Hearts fan to the Tynecastle fighting fund that's devoted to the struggle against liquidation.

But their generosity didn't extend to reduced effort and when they eventually took the lead after 26 minutes, it was hardly against the run of play. May, the hero of the hour when he scored the goal that beat Rosenborg in the second qualifying round of the Europa League, scored with a clever turn and shot that beat MacDonald without hitting anybody inside a crowded penalty area.

The far-side assistant referee, Graham McNeillie, thought David Wotherspoon might have touched the ball on its way to the net and raised his flag for offside.

But the referee, Steven MacLean, over-ruled that decision and further angered the Hearts fans later on when he waved away a penalty appeal when Stevenson went down under a challenge from Steven Anderson.

Stevie May scores for Saints Stevie May scores for Saints
SNS Group

The goal made the game an even bigger test of character for the younger element at Hearts and their difficulty was two-fold.

May was a one-man source of discomfort to the visitors' defence at one end and Hearts lacked any kind of cutting edge at the other.

They would also have been two goals behind and prematurely beaten if it hadn't been for an outstanding save from MacDonald two minutes before half-time.

Wotherspoon's corner picked out Anderson and his powerful header was somehow tipped over the bar by the alert and agile keeper.

If that was good judgment, it was good fortune that prevented another chance at goal for the home side shortly after the resumption.

Kevin McHattie's hand seemed to get in the way of a cross from May and Tommy Wright flew from the St Johnstone dug-out to claim for a penalty kick.

His protest was unanswered but the manager could at least console himself with the thought that his side had maintained their first-half stranglehold on the game into the second period. Only MacDonald stood between Hearts and the certainty of defeat and he proved that once again with a superlative save from Steven MacLean.

May's original shot caught a defender's leg and spun into the air to give MacLean an unobstructed header at goal, but the keeper spread his body and blocked the effort.

It was always going to be an extended lead for St Johnstone or the status quo because the reality was it looked as if Hearts could've played all day without scoring.

The result means Hearts failed to reduce their 15-point deduction handed out after the club entered administration.

And they're not allowed to bring in anyone over the age of 21 for the remainder of the season to help address their problems in front of goal.

One goal was all it took for St Johnstone and while the huge crowd consoled Locke, his side's lack of firepower will concern him.

Taken from the Daily Record