Hearts 0-2 St Mirren: Hearts fall fourth in abject St Mirren defeat
- Published
Curtis Main drills in the opener after outmuscling Kye Rowles
The pressure on Robbie Neilson increased as Hearts suffered a sixth defeat in seven games and fell to fourth in the Scottish Premiership after losing to St Mirren.
Curtis Main and Alex Gogic got the goals for the visitors before Robert Snodgrass' red card ended any hope of a comeback.
Despite holding a comfortable lead in the table over Aberdeen just a few weeks ago, Hearts have now slipped behind the Pittodrie side in the race for European group stage football.
And to compound matters, St Mirren are now just a point behind the struggling Tynecastle side.
Neilson had to make changes from the side that lost at Kilmarnock last week. The Hearts fans expected nothing less.
The fresh legs made some impact in the first half. The hosts dominated possession and hit the crossbar through an Andy Halliday header, but they mustered little else and still looked fragile at set-pieces, with Gogic going close twice.
The second half is where it all went wrong. Main bullied Kye Rowles off the ball before drilling the ball low from 25 yards out. It flew into the bottom corner and, immediately, the atmosphere in Tynecastle soured.
Hearts' heads dropped and St Mirren took full advantage. A long throw drifted into the box, breaking kindly for Mark O'Hara whose shot deflected off Gogic past the deputising Ross Stewart and in.
There was unsavoury graffiti on the plaza outside Tynecastle through the week, widely criticised. However, the sentiment remains and a vocal Hearts support made their feelings clear at the end of the match.
Player of the match - Alex Gogic
The Cypriot embodies what is good about Robinson's team. Hard-working, tenacious and tough to beat.
Tynecastle turns toxic as Hearts' dire run continues - analysis
It really is a shame that a solid St Mirren performance - their first win at Tynecastle since 2013 - is the second story here.
Their fantastic season is flying under the radar, and that's probably how Stephen Robinson likes it. They're flying towards Europe without the spotlight adding any pressure.
But instead, the talk revolves entirely around Neilson and how, if given the chance, he can turn Hearts around.
Completely devoid of confidence and shaky at the back, they've been hammered by injuries and inconsistency from key players.
The addition of Cammy Devlin to midfield seemed astute, but St Mirren outfought Hearts all over the pitch.
What they said
Watch Neilson's last interview as Hearts manager
Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: "We're just bitterly, bitterly disappointed. We had opportunities to score and didn't take them, then lost two very poor goals.
"We need to get our finger out now, work hard this week, and look each other in the mirror and ask 'what we're going to do here?' We need to get back to winning ways."
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "We started slowly in the first 20 minutes, which wasn't like us. We sorted that out, and then I thought we controlled it.
"We forced them into areas where they made mistakes and hit them on the counter. Second half was excellent and we picked them off when we needed to.
What's next?
Hearts visit Edinburgh rivals Hibernian next Saturday (12:30 BST), while St Mirren travel to Ibrox on the same day (15:00).