St. Mirren suffered their first loss in seven games thanks to a wonderful goal from Barrie McKay, and Hearts’ grip on third place in the Scottish Premiership was strengthened.
McKay attacked the visitors and executed a superb play to enlarge the margin over Aberdeen to six points.
However, under extreme pressure late on, the hosts—whose manager Robbie Neilson was sent off—had to cling on.
Jonah Ayunga hit the post, while Zander Clark made two outstanding saves to preserve Hearts’ advantage against Greg Kiltie.
When the ball struck Hearts defender Kye Rowles on the arm inside the penalty box, St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson will also be irate that his team was not given a late penalty.
The visitors will not be able to climb from sixth to fourth in the standings as a result of the Tynecastle setback.
Early in the game, St. Mirren displayed drive when Curtis Main’s cross whizzed by Alex Greive, another attacking player, six yards from goal.
Before Hearts found their groove, Main and Keanu Baccus also tried their luck, frequently encouraged by important midfielder Robert Snodgrass and with Alex Cochrane ever keen to advance down the flank.
McKay’s flawlessly executed goal proved to be the deciding factor between the clubs. He gained control of the ball in his own half and drove at the St. Mirren defense, drawing three of their players in black and white towards him. He then played a one-two with the team’s captain, Lawrence Shankland, and then another one-two with Andy Halliday, whose pass was perfectly weighted for McKay to sweep home from the edge of the box.
St. Mirren was resentful of falling behind and made a valiant effort to score a leveler. They were occasionally overly physical, as demonstrated by Baccus’ late challenge on Snodgrass and Declan Gallagher’s opportunistic block of McKay as he raced down the left wing.
Cochrane’s drive into the box caused Andy Halliday to miss the target, and Kiltie did the same at the other end before forcing Clark into a stunning double save, stopping his first attempt with his left hand and his second with his right leg.
Neilson being escorted to the stands, where he experienced the final painful minutes next to injured goalkeeper Craig Gordon, was a sign of the tense atmosphere in the stadium.
And the referee’s absence from the monitor, much to the chagrin and consternation of the visiting players, was a troubling sight for the Hearts manager when Scott Tanser’s ball into the box struck Rowles’ arm.
new signature The crowd was on its feet when Garang Kuol, who had replaced McKay for the final 13 minutes, set up Stephen Humphrys for the goal that should have put the outcome beyond question in the 89th minute. The attacker, however, appeared to scuff his foot as he blasted wide with just Carson to beat.
