Heart of Midlothian 3-2 St Johnstone: Injury-hit Edinburgh side edge five-goal thriller
- Published
Kye Rowles scored his first Hearts goal but went off injured
Heart of Midlothian edged St Johnstone in a five-goal Premiership thriller to prove the depth of their squad before the Europa Conference League campaign.
A much-changed side from their Europa League play-off loss fell behind when Graham Carey pounced to score from Craig Gordon's poor clearance.
Kye Rowles and Liam Boyce headed replies before both went off injured.
Andrew Considine nodded an equaliser, but Lawrence Shankland's penalty 10 minutes from time secured the win.
The win takes Hearts back up to third place, while St Johnstone, who have now lost on seven of their past eight visits to Tynecastle, remain in 10th.
Hearts' resources were already stretched to the limit with Alex Cochrane suspended, fellow defender Stephen Kingsley injured and in-form trio Alan Forrest, Barrie McKay and Shankland rested on the bench following their Thursday exertions against Zurich.
Robbie Neilson's rearranged line-up was exposed within six minutes following an uncharacteristic error from Gordon.
The Scotland goalkeeper's loose clearance dropped to Carey, who sent a delightful first-timer curling into the empty net with the outside of his left foot from 25 yards.
St Johnstone's third league goal of the season was their first from open play and, as they threatened another, they perhaps should have been handed a penalty as Jamie Murphy was sent sprawling inside the box after young defender Lewis Neilson's nudge from behind.
The visitors' cause was not helped by the withdrawal of Melker Hallberg after the midfielder was left reeling by a Peter Haring free-kick smacked into his face with only 15 minutes gone.
A further blow was to follow as Rowles powered in Gary Mackay-Steven's corner, although the centre-half's joy at his first Hearts goal was tempered by an awkward landing that has left him on crutches.
Hearts were now having the better of the end-to-end encounter and unmarked Boyce was on hand to meet Josh Ginnelly's cross into the six-yard. Sadly for Boyce, he would leave the park on a stretcher shortly before half-time.
Considine's leveller from a corner shortly after the break looked to have secured Saints a point until fellow centre-half Liam Gordon's clumsy tackle on McKay handed Shankland the chance for his fourth goal of the season.
Man of the match - Josh Ginnelly
Josh Ginnelly's future at Hearts has been called into question, but the winger (top) made the most of his return to the starting line-up with a lively display
Hearts and Saints must recruit - analysis
Hearts announced the signing of German midfielder Orestis Kiomourtzoglou from Heracles Almelo ahead of kick off before Neilson told BBC Scotland that he was still hopeful of adding "one or two" more before the transfer window closes.
That recruitment may become even more feverish after injuries for Rowles, Boyce and defender Nathaniel Atkinson.
Those left still standing at the end of the 90 minutes against St Johnstone proved that their excellent first-half performance against Zurich was no fluke with another dose of free-flowing football that show much promise ahead of the league and European campaigns ahead.
St Johnstone will take heart from a battling performance that showed a greater goal threat than of late.
Manager Callum Davidson had stuck with the side that lost at home to Aberdeen last weekend other than giving Stevie May "a wee chance" up front in place of Theo Bair, but a regular scorer remains the biggest missing link for the Perth side.
What they said
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: "Delighted to get the three points but disappointed to lose a couple of players.
"We've picked up a few injuries and the squad was down to the bare bones going into the game and we just have to have fingers crossed we get some back for Wednesday and these guys aren't as bad as first thought. But overall a pleasing performance coming off a massive game on Thursday night."
St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson: "Definitely frustration in how we lost the third goal. It's basic and we have to do better. It's hard to take and costly.
"We fought really hard. First half, we didn't play particularly well but gave a great response after the break."
What's next?
Hearts host Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup second round on Wednesday (19:45 BST), while St Johnstone have to wait until next Saturday before entertaining St Mirren in the Premiership (15:00).