12th March 2022. Hearts 4 St Mirren 2
Second match of the day for me and one I was was really looking forward to as a night tonight would put Hearts into the Scottish Cup semi-finals. After a quick meal I was ready to leave at 19.00 for the 19.45 kick-off. Craig and hisf amilty were also going and parking in our residents car park. I met them and walked the shot distance to Fountainpark with them where they popped in for some food. I arrived at Tynecastle around 19.20 and showed my e-ticket at the turnstiles for entry. They ground was filling up nicely with a noisy St. Mirren support filling three top sections of the Roseburn stand. Unfortunately they had some-one there with a drum. I really think anyone who brings a drum to a football match should be banned for life. The match was live on BBC Scotland and this had the effect of restricting the attendance to 13,899 given Hearts season ticket holders had to pay for their ticket as the season ticket only covers SPL matches.
Hearts had several injury problems for this match. In addition to absence of Michael Smith, for at least a month, last weeks game at Dundee United resulted in injuries to John Souttar, Alex Cochrane, Gary Mackay-Steven, Cammy Devlin, Josh Ginnelly and Nat Atkinson. Atkinson was the only one fit enough to make tonights team with Andy Halliday, Peter Haring and Ben Woodburn also in the starting eleven. the injuries meant the U18 players Macaulay Tait, Luke Rathie and MacKenzie Kirk were included among the substitutes. St Mirren under new manager, Stephen Robinson, are pushing for a top six spot in the SPL. They did their chances no harm with a 1-0 win at Dundee on Wednesday. Stephen Robinson made one change to the side from Wednesday night with the returning Jak Alnwick returning in goal place of former Hearts keeper Dean Lyness.
The match did not start well for Hearts with Craig Halkett and St. Mirren’s Eamonn Trophy clashing heads in an early heading duel. Both players went down and required treatment. Thankfully, especially in view of Hearts injury problems, both recovered although Halkett played the rest of the game with a head bandage. Craig Gordon and Alnwick both had to make early saves before Hearts took the lead in sixteen minutes. Barry McKay broke down the left to the byeline and sent a low ball towards Ellis Simms in the centre of the six yard box. Simms’ first attempt and the subsequent rebound were both blocked by Alnwick before Beni Baningime raced into the six-yard box and scored his first goal for Hearts to put them ahead. The game was flowing from end to end before Hearts went further ahead after half an hour. A long ball found Liam Boyce in the centre of the field around thirty yards from goal. He turned brilliantly and passed to Woodburn on the right wing. The winger sent a first time low cross into the penalty area where Peter Haring arrived after a lung bursting run from midfield to fire the ball into the net from around ten yards. St Mirren pulled a goal back minutes later when Atkinson misjudged long ball allowing Richard Tait to sent a low driven cross into the box. Brophy, eight yards out at the near post, could see the ball coming over his shoulder and stuck out a foot to divert the ball into the top right corner of Gordon’s net giving the keeper no chance of making a save. Hearts could have scored another just before half time when Halkett’s shot hit the bar after a corner and a subsequent overhead kick by Boyce had been blocked by the St. Mirren defence.
The second half continued in the same manner as the first with both sides creating chances. Alnwick made a n excellent save with his legs for a Woodbun shot which took a deflection on its way towards the goal. Gordon than had to push away a Greg Kiltie header for a corner. However from the sixty-second minute corner St. Mirren equalised from what must be the goal of the season. The corner was headed clear by the Hearts defence and reached Connor Ronan, thirty-five yards from goal, in line with the edge of the penalty box line on the right. He took a touch to knock the ball forward slightly and then, with everyone expecting a cross back into the area, hit an unstoppable shot across goal into the top left hand corner of the net. Even Scotland’s No.1 keeper, Gordon, could get near it as it flew into the net. Hearts then brought on Aaron McEneff to replace Woodburn and he put Hearts ahead twenty-six seconds after entering the field. With his first touch he found Atkinson on the right. The full-back beat his man and sent a low cross in towards the six yard box. Simms tussled with a St. Mirren defender at the near post and the ball was deflected back to McEneff who had continued his run into the area. The ball was coming towards him at knee height and he stuck out his leg to deflect it into the far corner of the goal. The goal seemed to make St. Mirren lose a bit of fight. Steven Kingsley almost made it four for Hearts in eighty minutes when his twenty-two yard free-kick was pushed away for a corner by Alnwick. Hearts clinched the game with Five minutes to go and again McEneff was involved. This time he sent a low cross in from the right to find Simms at the near post who finished well giving Alnwick no chance.
On the final whistle Tynecastle erupted after one of the best matches, if not the best, of the season. Hearts are now in the Scottish Cup semi-finals for the third successive season. Despite his detractors Robbie Neilson has done a great job as manager when you add that Hearts have also almost clinched third spot in the SPL which guarantees European football next season. I walked home home arriving around 22.05 when I had a couple of glasses of vino to celebrate.
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