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JEERS TO CHEERS

Mackay-Steven puts smiles on faces after fans’ half-time boos

By Graeme Croser AT TYNECASTLE

AT the point Gary Mackay-Steven struck this game’s breakthrough goal, the Hearts players must have felt like they were playing in hostile territory.

A hearty round of booing had greeted the half-time whistle and only intensified as St Mirren threatened to take the lead early in the second half.

It all seemed a bit over-dramatic for an occasion that ultimately lifted the club above Celtic and into second place in the table.

‘It’s part and parcel of playing at Tynecastle,’ said manager Robbie Neilson afterwards. ‘You pay your money to be entertained, to see goals and shots at goal. In the first half, we didn’t have that final moment.’

A debutant at this ground more than 20 years ago, Neilson knows just how tough a crowd the Hearts faithful can be.

And, to be fair, the present day team did not play like title contenders for the lion’s share of this match. Anything but.

Credit must go to Jim Goodwin and a group of St Mirren players who took the game to their hosts and forced another top-notch display out of the evergreen Craig Gordon in goal.

Yet, as good as the Scotland keeper was, a little more care in Saints’ finishing could have made for a very different outcome.

The return of the prolific Liam Boyce to Hearts’ starting XI after a month’s absence was important for Neilson as he shuffled his pack following last weekend’s defeat at Motherwell. The striker’s return marked one of four changes, with Craig Halkett, Andy Halliday and match-winner Mackay-Steven also drafted in.

St Mirren settled into the game better, but there was nothing composed about the challenge with which Joe Shaughnessy flattened Boyce and drew an early yellow card from Alan Muir. The moment would come back to haunt him.

One early deflected Boyce shot apart, the early running was made by those in black in white.

Eamonn Brophy and Jamie McGrath dispatched shots off target as the visitors found their range and started to test Gordon.

An angled Brophy shot was pushed away then Charles Dunne was thwarted by the keeper’s legs from the resultant corner.

Goodwin was forced into a change when Scott Tanser hobbled off injured, leading to four minutes of stoppage-time before the interval that witnessed a big moment at either end.

Hearts finally sprung Boyce in on goal. Michael Smith did the set-up work with a cleverly disguised pass. Boyce took a moment to sort his feet as he received the ball, allowing Jak Alnwick to suss the angle and save.

More controversially, an offside flag denied Richard Tait a goal as he bounded through on Gordon and finished well.

John Souttar, sitting a little deeper than his defensive colleagues, might actually have been playing him on.

Those boos rang out at half-time.

A harsh verdict perhaps, but the dissent inevitably intensified as St Mirren ramped up their dominance after the restart.

A lovely move involving Connor Ronan and Alan Power ended with Tait back-heeling to McGrath, whose shot was beaten away by Gordon.

Between them, the keeper and Michael Smith kept out a Marcus Fraser header on the line then Tanser’s replacement Kyle McAllister had a shot tipped over.

As the crowd voiced its displeasure, Hearts delivered a moment that converted the jeers to cheers.

Barrie McKay must have thought about shooting as he advanced from the left-hand angle of the box but opted to cut the ball back.

Boyce could not quite get hold of the ball but it broke favourably to Mackay-Steven, who slotted home to calm the atmosphere. Suddenly the anxiety was evident in the St Mirren ranks. Goodwin was furious at the award of a free-kick as Boyce tumbled having felt the hands of Dunne on his back.

As the manager shared his thoughts with fourth official John Beaton, Stephen Kingsley took aim and whipped a perfect free-kick beyond Alnwick from 22 yards.

Although they managed to keep Saints at a healthy distance, Hearts could not quite make it to the end unscathed. Beni Baningime had been an efficient performer in midfield before pulling up and leaving the field on a stretcher.

A stand-out since joining from Everton on the eve of the season, Neilson revealed that the problem was not as bad as first, saying: ‘I think Beni will be alright, he is up and walking about and showering. I think he got a shock at the time, twisted his knee a wee bit.

‘He will be getting a bit of stick if he is training tomorrow. I think he just wanted a standing ovation!’ The game ended with Shaughnessy being shown a second yellow card for a minor foul on Cammy Devlin at the edge of the box.

Seconds away from blowing his final whistle referee Alan Muir might have shown leniency if not common sense but put the tin lid on the Paisley side’s luckless day.

‘We’re pleased to be second because we had a chance to do it last week and didn’t,’ said Neilson. ‘We’ve done well at Tynecastle, and it’s now about doing it in away games and the next one is Glasgow against Celtic.’

HEARTS (3-4-3): Gordon; Souttar, Halkett, Kingsley; Smith, Baningime (Haring 86), Devlin, Halliday; McKay, Boyce (Gnanduillet 80), Mackay-Steven (Ginnelly 69). Subs (not used): Stewart, McEneff, Woodburn, Cochrane. Booked: Devlin, Halliday.

ST MIRREN (3-4-2-1): Alnwick; Shaughnessy, Dunne, Fraser; Tait, Flynn (Kiltie 81), Power, Tanser

(McAllister 34); McGrath, Ronan (Dennis 73); Brophy. Subs (not used): Lyness, Main, Erhahon, Millar. Booked: Shaughnessy, Flynn, Alnwick.

Sent off: Shaughnessy.

Referee: Alan Muir. Attendance: 17,311.

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2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

2021-11-28T08:00:00.0000000Z

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