St Mirren 1-2 Heart of Midlothian: Visitors claim win as Paisley side secure top-six place
- Published
Kenneth Vargas' shot catches Marcus Fraser on the arm, earning Hearts a penalty
St Mirren secured their post-split place in the Scottish Premiership top six for the second year running despite coming off second best against Hearts.
Despite missing an ill Lawrence Shankland, Jorge Grant's first-half penalty and a chaotic Mikael Mandron own goal put the league's third-place in side command.
And although Toyosi Olusanya pulled one back for a revived St Mirren with a fine solo effort, the hosts were unable to haul themselves level.
Results elsewhere, though, mean Stephen Robinson's side have confirmed their top-six spot, while Hearts stay 11 points clear in third.
In conditions which could charitably be described as disruptive, neither side was able to get much traction in the first half.
St Mirren initially came closest, with Caolan Boyd-Munce's wind-assisted whipped corner beating Zander Clark, but Scott Tanser's connection on it took it past the far post rather than into the net.
Hearts secured their lead just after the half-hour mark. Alex Cochrane's free kick landed neatly for Kenneth Vargas, and as Marcus Fraser slid in to block the shot, his arm was ruled to have caught the ball on his way through.
Jorge Grant stroked home his penalty past Zach Hemmings to give the visitors the lead.
Both sides looked more notably comfortable with the conditions in the second period, as Hearts played with the wind at their back.
Somehow Vargas contrived to shoot wide after a mazy run through the St Mirren defence, with the home side notably fired up as a result, twice forcing Clark into saves in quick succession.
But just after the hour mark Hearts made it two. Cochrane's corner floated in close to Zach Hemmings and as the ball pinballed about the box, it was eventually tipped over the line by an unfortunate Mandron.
Toyosi Olusanya quickly fired back for St Mirren, getting on the end of a cleared corner and bursting from deep, beating Dexter Lembikisa to the ball and running through to slot below Zander Clark.
St Mirren had a penalty shout denied in the dying moments of the game.
Conor McMenamin played a neat one-two to burst into the Hearts box where he was caught by Aidan Denholm. VAR called Muir over to the monitor to check it and, after much squinting in the glare, the official ruled no spot kick.
Despite pushing forward for an equaliser St Mirren couldn't make their chances count, with substitute Keanu Baccus blazing over.
Player of the Match - Zander Clark (Hearts)
In often treacherous conditions, Clark managed to pull off a number of saves which kept Hearts in the driving seat
'Muted celebrations but job done' - analysis
Kheredine Idessane at the SMISA Stadium
The celebrations in Paisley were slightly muted, but the main aim for the season has been achieved - back-to-back top-six finishes. It's well-deserved too, as they've hardly been out of the upper half all season.
They might feel hard done to by the first-half penalty decision after a similar incident in the second-half was not overturned in their favour. But St Mirren were much better in the second half.
As for Hearts, no Lawrence Shankland, no problem. While he was in his sick-bed, the third best team in the country proved their credentials once again.
Solid at the back and enterprising up front, Hearts always looked in control.
The next big one for them is the Scottish Cup semi-final with Rangers in fortnight. They'll want their talisman Shankland fit and healthy for that one.
What the managers said
'We've worked tirelessly to drag every drop out of players'
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: "With the resources we have, when there's teams below us with riches beyond our dreams, it's a credit to this group of players, the staff and the board who have tried to build a football club as we go.
"I'm especially delighted for the staff who've worked tirelessly and drag every last drop out of the group of players. It's been a team effort from the boardroom all the way down.
"It was horrible conditions, balls flying out of play, players struggling to control it, it wasn't pretty on the eye, so I don't want to take away the achievement from this group of boys."
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith: "The conditions were really poor, they had a big impact on the game. Any time the ball was in the air you were just guessing where it would land.
"I thought we defended really well against a side that deserves to be in the top six. In the moments we could make the right passes we did, we scored probably should have scored more.
"Delighted with a win at a time when we probably had three of our most consistent performers not involved in the squad."
What's next?
St Mirren travel to Celtic Park knowing they've already secured a top six berth regardless of the result, while Hearts play host to bottom side Livingston (both Saturday 15:00 BST).