Hearts instant analysis: Naismith's men in third with ugly win

The game was won thanks to a stellar defensive performance and an own goal from Killie goalkeeper Will Dennis which owed much to some questionable defending and some excellent play from Lawrence Shankland.

READ MORE: Steven Naismith: 4 Hearts win in a row shouldn't be a big deal, Vargas & Boyce update

Winning ugly is beautiful

If you were to look up the definition of an 'ugly win' this may well be it. It took Hearts until the 89th minute to record a shot on target. Naismith's men had to dig in, again and again. For the first time this season in a domestic game not against Celtic or Rangers the opposition had more of the ball but Kilmarnock struggled to find any fluency. The home fans in the Main Stand grew in frustration as the game progressed.

This wasn't a Hearts performance Naismith talked about when he took over the job but it is the performance you need in your armoury in Scottish football. Killie are a nightmare to play against. Coming into the game only Celtic had picked up more points at home in league games. This is not an easy place to come. Hearts have been twice this season and won both times. They've now won more away games than the entirety of last season.

Oh, and they now sit third having won their last four. 

Back three strength

Hearts knew they were going to face a battle at Rugby Park and they knew they were going to face a barrage of crosses, corner kicks and long throws into the box. Frankie Kent, Kye Rowles and Stephen Kingsley were going to come under a lot of pressure. And they did. But they dealt with it expertly.

In terms of man of the match you can't separate the trio. Kent attacked the ball so well and the importance of reading the flight of Dan Armstrong and then Matty Kennedy's deliveries from wide can't be underestimated. He did it so well. Stephen Kingsley is just a remarkably sound and solid defender no matter what position he is in. Then there is Kye Rowles, he covered so well, sweeping across and getting himself in front of the ball. 

In fact the whole team contributed, getting behind the ball and making it incredibly awkward for Kilmarnock. The home side just couldn't find space with Kyle Vassell well marshalled and Marley Watkins a perhiperal figure, running on the edges of the game. Beni Baningime was key to the front two not getting it their own way, protecting and pressing.

Zander Clark's role should also be noted. He once more came up with an important stop in the first half and everything was dealt with comfortably, in the air or on the deck.

The problem position

Steven Naismith made just the two changes from last week’s 1-0 win over St Johnstone as Calem Nieuwenhof and Yutaro Oda came in for Alex Lowry and Alan Forrest. Nieuwenhof occupied his usual central midfield role, but Oda found himself shoehorned in at right wing-back as the Japanese attacker was handed a rare start. 

It’s an area of the park where Hearts have looked susceptible to danger in recent weeks, and so it remained against Kilmarnock. Oda spent the first 20 minutes or so on the right of the defence, and didn’t look particularly comfortable whenever Killie attacked down his side. Oda struggled to make an impact in attack too, and the experiment was brought to an end when Liam Boyce picked up a knock and had to be substituted off. 

Oda joined Lawrence Shankland up front as Toby Sibbick entered the fray at right wing-back, but there is a reason why the versatile defender was originally on the bench. Sibbick himself has been out-of-sorts over the last month or so and has chalked up a few errors. There was a key moment in the first half when Danny Armstrong skipped past him too easily into Hearts’ area with ease towards the end of the first half, only for the Killie man to fail to hit the target. And as a natural defender, Sibbick’s attacking instincts aren’t the best. 

Oda, Forrest and Sibbick have all been played at right wing-back, but no one has managed to fully convince there. Nathaniel Atkinson’s recovery from injury can’t come soon enough.

READ MORE: Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes felt Hearts win was 'harsh'

Tagawa provides food for thought 

Hearts supporters haven’t seen much of Kyosuke Tagawa since the Japanese signed a three-year deal at Tynecastle Park in the summer, with the striker only managing a handful of cameo appearances off the bench at the start of the season before an injury kept him out of contention. 

Fans were offered another glimpse of the 24-year-old in action when Tagawa came on for the final half hour or so at Rugby Park. He might not have been able to notch a first league goal in maroon but he linked up nicely with Shankland, while his direct running and pace gave Hearts a way of attacking Kilmarnock through the middle – something that was conspicuous by its absence up until that point. 

Boyce, Oda and Kenneth Vargas have all partnered Shankland up top this season with varying degree of success, but none of the three have managed to fully convince and make the position their own. With the games coming thick and fast, Tagawa has surely earned an opportunity to show what he can do. The glimpses we have seen so far have been encouraging.

VAR decision

VAAAAHHHHHHRRR. Here we go again.

It continues to be painful. Refereeing continues to be painful. Decision making continues to be painful. Yutaro Oda was floored by Kilmarnock keeper Will Dennis midway through the first-half and then confusion set in. The linesman eventually flagged for offside, the Japanese forward looked clearly offside. But as play was allowed to go on he got to the ball first before being brought down by a knee-high challenge complete with studs.

Despite it being an offside situation the challenge was made when the ball was 'live'. It is hard to understand why the official overseeing VAR (Grant Irvine) watched it back and didn't see fit to call referee David Dickinson across to the monitor. What's the point in VAR if it continues to be used incorrectly.