St Mirren 1-0 Heart of Midlothian: Early Strain strike takes Buddies to victory
- Published
Ryan Strain's goal proved the difference between the sides
St Mirren are "still a work in progress" despite continuing their superb start to the Scottish Premiership season with a gritty 1-0 win over Hearts in Paisley.
Ryan Strain capitalised on a defensive mix-up to put the hosts in front early on and although there was a spell of Hearts pressure in the second half, St Mirren held firm for their fourth league win in their opening six games.
Robinson's second-place side stay within two points of leaders Celtic, while Hearts sit sixth.
"Terrific performance today," said Saints manager Robinson said. "It probably should have been more against a very good Hearts side.
"We're creating chances, we're playing some very good stuff and when we needed to defend we showed great character and resilience.
"I still think there's improvement, it's still a work in progress. It's my job to keep the realism and keep everyone's feet on the ground. Without the hard work and discipline, you go nowhere."
St Mirren started with all the confidence of a team flying high in the league and it took less than seven minutes for them to grab the lead.
Scott Tanser whipped a cross into the box, and when goalkeeper Zander Clark and Frankie Kent left it to each other, Strain was on hand to tap into an empty net at the back post.
Greg Kiltie thought he had doubled the lead when he bundled home a loose ball from a corner, but Nick Walsh penalised Alex Gogic for a high boot and the goal was chalked off.
Hearts showed precious little quality before the break, with Steven Naismith's side unable to translate plenty of possession into meaningful chances.
Despite Hearts' lack of cutting edge, there were moments where Robinson must have thought things were destined to go against him, as St Mirren had two further goals disallowed.
Mikael Mandron and Alex Greive both had the ball in the net, but were denied by a soft foul in the build-up and a lengthy VAR check for offside respectively.
Naismith's side did improve in attack as the game went on, and after riding their luck, could well have snatched a point.
Zach Hemming tipped Cammy Devlin's low drive round the post and then made himself big right at the death to deny Lawrence Shankland.
The Hearts captain kicked the advertising hoardings behind the goal in frustration, which rather summed up a disappointing afternoon for the Tynecastle outfit.
Player of the match - Scott Tanser
The St Mirren wing-back set up the goal, was a constant threat with his delivery from the left, and is part of a defensive unit that Hearts struggled to break down
Hearts blunted by brilliant Buddies - analysis
St Mirren's shape and structure is so impressive. Every player knows exactly what their role is in this system and they are all full of belief, buoyed by the confidence that only wins can bring.
They are tough to break down and have now scored in all six of their league games this season. Solid at the back and a real threat going forward - that's a recipe for success at any level.
For Hearts, the contrast is stark. They clearly have good footballers, but for all their possession, they looked short of answers in forward areas. There is a lack of pace throughout the side and the midfield is full of very similar profiles.
Naismith was hired because at the back end of last season he improved Hearts' fortunes in attack. That fluidity has seemingly disappeared, and with the aims and expectations at Tynecastle, he won't have long to turn things around.
What they said
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "It's been a good start; that's all it is. Last season, we were very functional - we played a lot of straight line football, which I don't like. We've got the right balance now."
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "The timing [of the goal] is irrelevant. It's the nature of it that's ultimately cost us. It's a really poor goal to lose, and that's now a couple of times this season it's happened, which is frustrating.
"It defines the game. We give up a cheap goal, and in the other box we had two or three really good chances that we don't take, and that's been the difference. We've got to manage these games better."
What's next?
St Mirren are away to Hibernian in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday (19:45 BST), then visit Kilmarnock in the Premiership next Saturday (15:00).
Hearts travel to Killie for their last-eight tie on Wednesday (19:45) before heading north to face Ross County next Saturday (15:00).