3 key elements of Hearts win and surprise man of the match

The 28-year-old reached the 50 mark for the club with his 22nd goal of the season and his sixth match-winner on league business. 

At Hearts Standard we could quite easily write about Shankland all day, every day. A once-in-a-generation talent for the club. However, there was more to the win in Perth than the club's leading scorer. 

READ MORE: The Hearts juggernaut continues: Shankland half-century and points target

Variety

As was covered in the StatsBomb report of the match, Hearts recorded their second-lowest xG against in the Premiership this season. St Johnstone mustered just 0.48 xG from 10 shots. Only Livingston at Tynecastle Park recorded lower. That is down to how the team controlled the game for large parts, especially when they went in front through Shankland's 55th-minute strike. 

Naismith's men dominated the first 25 minutes of the match at McDiarmid Park. After 10 minutes Hearts' possession share was upwards of 70 per cent. St Johnstone had set their stall out early, defending deep and only engaging when the ball came into or near their half. Below is the shape of the two teams and average positions in the first half. Saints had six outfield players in their own half, while Hearts had only their two centre-backs. 

In the opening stages, Saints' low block was clear.

The pressing intent could be seen in the first minute when Tony Gallacher closed down Dexter Lembikisa but the ball was shifted back and he quickly returned to his position in the Saints shape.

In the previous encounter, Hearts' 1-0 win at Tynecastle Park in one of Craig Levein's first games in charge, Frankie Kent, Kye Rowles, Stephen Kingsley and Alex Cochrane had 352 touches between them as St Johnstone sat off. Kent, Kingsley, Cochrane and Dexter Lembikisa had 338 touches on this occasion. Not a huge drop but the change in shape and the way the team probed was more positive in an attacking sense. Lembikisa and Cochrane played high up the park. 

Hearts displayed patience in possession but ensured they didn't just play in front of St Johnstone. Firstly, Cochrane and Alan Forrest, with the occasional cameo from Scott Fraser showed real promise of developing a strong partnership down the left-hand side. In the first half alone they linked up six times. Crucially they varied their positioning. 

The left-back is trusted to play an inverted role at times with Lembikisa stretching the game on the right. From the central position, he can make underlapping runs.

When Forrest scampered down the left, Fraser occupied a wide spot and Cochrane moved infield.

Other times Cochrane would look to release Forrest much quicker from a deeper position.

The last example saw Cochrane clip a long pass towards Forrest. Hearts weren't adverse to going direct. The left-back set the tone in the first minute as he sought to find Vargas.

Kent tried to hit the Costa Rican in the eighth minute and Nieuwenhof to Vargas six minutes later and then Lembikisa two minutes after that to the same target. Nothing wrong with trying to pick out the quickest forward and turning the Saints' defence.

When he moved centrally, he caused Andy Considine and Ryan McGowan a few difficulties with his pace. Neither of the veteran centre-backs are renowned for their pace. The former Hearts defender was booked in an unusual incident where the offside call was very close.

And, of course, it was from a long pass that Hearts got the only goal of the game. 

"It looked like a long punt but Frankie made eye contact with me when I was making the run," Shankland said.

READ MORE: Hearts records, Robertson messages and Golden Boot rivals - Lawrence Shankland Q&A

Naismith tweak

"At times we weren’t aggressive enough with our press but overall it was a pleasing first half," was Naismith's verdict of the first 45 minutes.

The only time Hearts lost a semblance of control of the match was a 10-15 minute period in the first half. Fraser didn't get close enough to Graham Carey. The St Johnstone midfielder began to act like a quarterback. The first warning came in the 23rd minute. Look at the space he is afforded.

Carey wants to get on the ball and have time to pick out a pass. It happened again in the 30th minute and the 35th which is shown below.

Naismith is a switched-on in-game coach, more than happy to tweak and change. He moved Fraser right and Vargas central. It made a difference, either side of half-time. Vargas forced a throw-in before the interval and left Carey in a dump after the break. He made sure the Saints player didn't get easy possession and stopped them building any sort of fluidity

Seeing the game out

Hearts have grown in the last two months. Earlier this week we wrote about the key characteristics that have defined the team's strong run of form. Ever since the defeat to Aberdeen, the team have not lost from a losing position, while they have won seven points from losing positions.

There was little fear that the team would drop two or three points in Perth when they got in front. Key to that was how positive they were with their positioning. How often have you seen a Hearts team get ahead away from home before dropping deeper and deeeper and deeper? This team doesn't tend to do that. 

A big aspect of it is mentality. Take the reaction to Saints getting behind the Hearts midfield as an example.

A few minutes later, Beni sweeps across to cut out the danger.

Cochrane races up the pitch to get tight to Connor Smith.

The below is in the 82nd minute. Nieuwenhof presses. Lembikisa follows. It forces Saints to play it forward blind with Kent sweeping it up.

All the above examples are after going 1-0 up. Hearts want to keep St Johnstone penned in and suffocated. The players are fit and alert to danger and if the ball goes goal side they work hard to get back.

It is a more demanding but far more effective means of stopping teams than simply sitting deep and holding on.

The best example is in stoppage time. Remember when Hearts kept it in the corner at Fir Park for what felt like 30 minutes? They did similar in Perth. Around seven and a half minutes of extra time were played. They spent more than three of those in the far left-hand corner.

READ MORE: Steven Naismith Q&A: Hearts form, 'best striker in the league', Devlin return

Man of the match

It was Lawrence Shankland's night. Frankie Kent was excellent and Alex Cochrane continued his fine season. But in the middle of the park, Calem Nieuwenhof may well have put in the most subtle of man-of-the-match performances. He was everywhere, in and out of possession, setting the tone for much of the positive work outlined above.

Watching the game at the time, he stood out in the opening stages before appearing to fade. He didn't. For the distance he covered and work he put in, he didn't appear to break a sweat or appear unflustered at any point. 

There have been times this season where he appeared not to read the flow of the game or be able to react quickly enough to the way football is played in Scotland. That wasn't the case against St Johnstone. He was a three-way midfielder.

He helped bring early control to the midfield with his efficient passing. He was adept at tempting St Johnstone players towards him before recycling possession to keep the ball moving. Numerous times in the early stages he would back the play up and pass wide to keep the home side penned in.

While the below pass didn't move Hearts forward it kept possession and was an early sign for the home side that they may have to do a lot of chasing. Look at the Saints player's reaction, he looks to the sky frustrated at chasing but not getting close.

We can see from the map below of the Australian's passes that many were under pressure (the lines with what looks like a VA in the middle). He often linked with Lembikisa or opened up the play away from the right side.

A desire of fans is for Nieuwenhof to be more assertive and provide a bit more verticality to the midfield. He did that with his off-the-ball running against Saints. The two examples below came within the first five minutes. 

He was the player most likely to run beyond Shankland, especially if the striker dropped deep. He showed a real desire to be involved and to provide different options. Here is him bursting a gut to get into the final third.

In the instance below, he comes looking for the ball. 

As soon as it is switched to the right he is on his bike and running off an opponent. Now, he may not get the ball with every run he makes but he pulls the St Johnstone players out of position.

Out of possession, he was popping up everywhere. The graph below shows his recoveries (plus symbol) and pressures (flag symbol). We can see he won the ball back 10 times in his own half and put pressure on the opposition high up the park.

He was still doing it deep in the second half and deep in the Saints' half. Here he is springing to pressure Carey, forcing him backward before going for a second bite and rushing a pass out wide.

It was an all-action display in a deserved win for Hearts.