Hearts land huge win to move off the bottom with one standout

It was a big game for Neil Critchley and his Hearts side following Wednesday's reverse at home to Kilmarnock. And they delivered at McDiarmid Park. Just.

A wicked Blair Spittal corner forced Nicky Clark to divert the ball into his own net from a corner. After the break, Hearts were nervy and it wasn't a surprise when the home side equalised following a VAR intervention and Clark converting from the penalty spot. Kenneth Vargas, off the bench, would come up with the winner.

Joel and Craig recap the match action from Perth...

Huge win

There were periods in the second half at McDiarmid Park where concerns were growing as to the direction of this Hearts side, parallels being drawn to the 2019/20 season. It was a loss at St Johnstone that cost Craig Levein his job as the team had already begun their descent, aided by Covid and demotion, to the Championship. The team had a half-time lead but never looked like building on it. The opposite was true. Possession was surrendered cheaply, Saints substitute goalkeeper Josh Rae, on at half-time, wasn't tested. It was the home side who looked more likely.

When the goal came there was an inevitability about the game. 

Thankfully for Hearts that inevitability didn't become fact. For this game, these three points are huge. Hearts face Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen in their next three league fixtures and they needed to start winning games. The performance wasn't pretty but the win was all that mattered.

Saints play into Hearts' hands

Neil Critchley made two changes from the side that lost to Kilmarnock, with Daniel Oyegoke and Yan Dhanda replacing Adam Forrester and Kenneth Vargas. Alan Forrest retained his starting berth but played on the right, to get at Barry Douglas who was starting his first match since the end of last season.

Simo Valakari has looked to change the style since coming in at St Johnstone. And it is a style which suits Hearts to play against. Anyone who has watched a good amount of Hearts will know the best way to frustrate the team is to cede possession and defend in a low block. Saints, however, want to dominate possession.

The home side started with a narrow midfield behind a narrow forward line, meaning Hearts got a lot of joy doubling up on or isolating full-back - especially down Douglas' side. Simo Valakari chose Jason Holt to play on the left of his midfield three and Graham Carey on the right. With the latter being more of a natural central midfielder, he was more likely to tuck in than Carey and it meant lots of space for Forrest and Oyegoke to work in. Just like Wednesday night's defeat to Kilmarnock, Hearts dominated the early stages. Just like that night, they took the lead when their opponents had started to come into the game meaning they have scored the first goal in four of the last five matches having not done so in the previous 12.

Hearts respond well to equaliser

In the second half, it all went wrong. St Johnstone's approach was to play out from the back which had suited Hearts in the first half. After the interval, the home side got more joy in the second half as the Jambos retreated. Critchley responded by bringing on Cammy Devlin and Kenneth Vargas for Malachi Boateng and Dhanda.

Vargas pushed up front to use his pace in behind the Saints defence. With Spittal now on the left and Devlin in midfield it was obvious the head coach was looking for more control of the game.

After an initial spell where Hearts took a foothold in the game again, St Johnstone piled on the pressure with a series of set pieces, winning a penalty to equalise from one. From there, the game switched again. Hearts immediately pinned St Johnstone back in search of an equaliser and were rewarded when substitute Vargas slipped the ball under Josh Rae. It was an instinctive goal given the way Baningime bolted through the middle of the park but it showed a character trait missing all too often this season: reacting positively to a setback.

Beni's back

Picking out strong individual performances was relatively easy. You just gravitated toward the Hearts midfield pairing. Beni Baningime, back in the starting XI, and Malachi Boateng swept up a lot of balls in the midfield. Tackling, intercepting, and simply recovering possession for their side. In addition, they provided an element of composure and direction to play, helping funnel the ball out wide. 

Out of the two, it was the returning Baningime who demonstrated exactly why he plays when he is fit and frustrates when he is not. He is such an important figure in terms of his reading of the game. Numerous times he won possession back at key moments or in key areas, sometimes winning a foul because a St Johnstone player was completely duped by him. In possession, he provides a safety. There can be a nervousness when certain players have the ball under pressure or in tight areas. Not Baningime. He's not known for his work in the final third but such were the team's struggles he was required to step up and create the winning goal.

Best outfield player on the pitch. By a mile.

Defensive vulnerability

Hearts never looked comfortable defending, whether it was from open play for set pieces. While the team weren't a scintillating watch last season they were a solid outfit who were a difficult nut to crack. It was something that gave them a platform for success in the second half of matches. There is a fragility about the team this season, individually but more pertinently collectively. 'Cheap goals' has been a common phrase this campaign. Guess what? St Johnstone equalised from a cheap goal. Cammy Devlin, who was marking St Johnstone's centre-back Kyle Cameron as a zonal system was operated, was adjudged to have hauled him to the ground as they grappled with one another.

However, just in general there was a vulnerability. Both centre-backs had at least one moment where they failed to get to grips with Adama Sidibeh or Benji Kimpioka. Kye Rowles in particular was turned on more than one occasion and, having been performing well in recent weeks, put in a performance that prompts concern among fans.

Gordon stops

In either half, Craig Gordon produced big saves. Hearts fans have not seen him at his very best this season. Coming into the game his 57 per cent win percentage is one of the lower in the Premiership. He helped those stats with key stops at key moments.

In the first half, he went right to push away a Nicky Clark free-kick which was headed toward the top corner. After the break he was down to his left to deny Sidibeh's flicked header. It was a performance that was required with the way the team had defended at times.