Hearts saw off St Johnstone 2:1 in the Premiership's fourth round of matches on Friday evening. The result keeps both sides level on points after two games, though the home side now sits fifth while St Johnstone remain sixth. It was a match decided by moments rather than sustained pressure.
James Wilson opened the scoring early, finding the net in the ninth minute to give Hearts the lead. St Johnstone could not hold their shape, and Enes Alıç turned the ball into his own goal in the thirty-ninth minute. The visitors were left chasing the game, and by then Hearts had picked up two bookings in five minutes of their own.
Ruari Paton pulled one back for St Johnstone just after the interval, the forty-eighth minute. The visitors were everywhere in those opening exchanges, but their goalkeeper had to make seven saves compared to three for the Hearts keeper. The pitch cut up badly as the game wore on, and both sides switched off at the back at crucial moments.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with Laurent Mendy and Wilson both off for Hearts in the fifty-seventh minute. St Johnstone brought on Sam Stanton and Jamie Gullan around the same time, while Hearts added Sabah Kerjota and Liam Smith later on. The home side had tried to hold every card, but the visitors refused to go away.
Hearts registered fourteen shots against St Johnstone's eight, though both teams hit the same accuracy rate of forty-four per cent. The visitors enjoyed fifty-three per cent possession but failed to create as many clear-cut opportunities, managing only one big chance compared to Hearts' two. The statistics tell you nothing about who deserved more.
Both sides now have three points from two matches, with the gap between fifth and sixth place yet to open. Hearts will fancy their chances if they can replicate that defensive resilience, while St Johnstone know they have to be sharper in the final third. The table goes out of the window in these games, but consistency matters.
