St. Mirren 1 Heart of Midlothian 1

SPFL Premiership, Saturday 10 May 2014 – New St. Mirren Park

A season which began with much doom and gloom thanks to a 15 point deduction and signing embargo, ended on a high for Heart of Midlothian. Hot on the heels of the news that the club has finally exited administration, Hearts grabbed a well-deserved draw against St. Mirren on Saturday.

More than 2,400 Hearts supporters headed for Paisley which was yet another incredible turnout given the game meant nothing in terms of league status. But it was another demonstration of the passion of the Hearts support.

Manager Gary Locke – whose position at Tynecastle is due for discussion with the club’s new owner, Anne Budge, this week – made three changes from the side that lost to Partick Thistle in midweek. Goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald was restored between the sticks while Jamie Walker and David Smith also made Hearts starting line-up.

As they did against Thistle, Hearts began the game on the offensive with Jamie Walker having a couple of early efforts. However, despite being on top, Hearts found themselves a goal behind just before the half-hour mark. McLean’s shot on goal was blocked by Jamie MacDonald but the ball fell to Newton who slotted the rebound home to give the Buddies a scarcely deserved lead.

A former Aberdeen player, Wylde then combined with a current Aberdeen player - Magennis who is on loan to St. Mirren – with the latter heading wide. McLean then hit a free-kick from 25 yards which produced a superb save from Jamie MacDonald and prevented the visitors from going two goals behind. Despite a bright opening, Hearts were somewhat relieved to be only 1-0 down at half-time. The travelling support, though, seemed to have their minds elsewhere with an eruption of noise emanating from the away end with news of Hibernian’s demise at Easter Road.

Gary Locke may well have had a word or two to say at the break because the Maroons came out for the second half in determined fashion. From a St. Mirren corner, Hearts broke forward with a pace that had the home defenders struggling. Sam Nicholson fed Jamie Walker whose shot on goal looked a winner until Saints keeper Dilo produced a superb save. However, the ball broke to the in-rushing Dale Carrick who kept up his impressive scoring rate of late and parity was restored.

Magennis and McGowan had chances to win the game for the home side but both opportunities were spurned. Hearts also had chances. Fine play from Kevin McHattie set up substitute Gary Oliver but the young striker’s effort went wide. Then Callum Paterson;s header was superbly saved by Dilo. The game ended 1-1 and Hearts time in the SPFL Premiership officially came to an end.

The magnificent Hearts support gave their team a standing ovation at the end of the game. Hope has returned to Hearts and the Maroon Army. With a young team that has markedly improved since the start of the season – they would have consigned Hibernian to automatic relegation but for the 15 point penalty imposed last summer – the start of the new season in the Championship can’t come soon enough.   

St Mirren: Dilo, McLean, McAusland, Newton, Kelly, Naismith, McGregor, Teale, Magennis, Goodwin, Wylde.

Hearts: MacDonald; Paterson, McGowan, Wilson, McHattie; D. Smith, Robinson, Holt, Nicholson; Walker, Carrick.

Referee: Stephen Finnie

Att: 6,311

Top man: Dale Carrick

Heart of Midlothian 2 St. Mirren 1

SPFL, Wednesday 29 January 2014 – Tynecastle

After finally reaching the positive points tally after last Saturday’s fine victory at Ross County, there was a degree of optimism at Tynecastle on Wednesday evening as Hearts played out a re-arranged SPFL Premiership fixture with St. Mirren. This game should have been played this coming weekend but as Hearts are on League Cup semi-final business on Sunday, the game was brought forward – thus enabling Ryan Stevenson to complete his two match suspension and make him available for the semi-final at Easter Road (assuming he hasn’t moved on by then…)

The optimism was justified as Hearts recorded a second SPFL win in a row for the first time this season, despite losing a goal in the opening minute. Goals from Callum Paterson and Jamie Hamill gave the Maroons their first win at Tynecastle since August and put the Gorgie faithful in a positive frame of mind before Sunday’s big semi-final.

On a bitterly cold evening, those same Hearts supporters were given a bitter pill to swallow after just 30 seconds. St. Mirren attacked straight from kick-off and Naismith’s cross found Thompson who easily outjumped two home defenders to head powerfully home into the corner.

Hearts looked momentarily stunned but it took them just three minutes to equalise. Sam Nicholson, impressive at Dingwall on Saturday, fed David Smith whose cross was headed home by Callum Paterson – the big striker’s second goal in as many games. It has to be said former Hearts keeper Marian Kello looked less than clever when Smith’s cross came in but the home support were delighted.  

The impressive Nicholson produced a piece of magic after 12 minutes and his cross found Paterson whose headed looked a winner until Kello redeemed himself by palming the ball over the crossbar.

However, the Paisley Saints almost regained the lead ten minutes before the break when McGinn’s header crashed off the crossbar. Half-time arrived with the teams on level terms.

Hearts began the second half in determined fashion and almost took the lead just three minutes in when Danny Wilson’s header clipped the crossbar. Sixty seconds later, Hearts were awarded a penalty kick when Dale Carrick’s run towards goal was halted abruptly by St. Mirren’s McAusland in the penalty box. Red card for the Saints defender, penalty kick for Hearts and Jamie Hamill did his usual expert job to put the Maroons ahead.

Despite being a man and a goal ahead, Hearts seemed to retreat into their shells a little and the visitors had more of the play which they weren’t entitled to expect given their numerical disadvantage.

Hearts did hit the post in the 73^rd minute when Carrick got on to a flick from McKay but it was the visitors who looked more threatening. Indeed, Danny Lennon’s team had a golden opportunity to draw parity with six minutes to go when Thompson elected to hit a first time effort from the edge of the penalty box when he perhaps had more time them he thought.

The final chance of the evening came to Hearts Scott Robinson whose effort from fully 30 yards was well saved by Kello.

The final whistle blew soon after and Hearts had secured another league win. By doing so they avoided an unwanted record – failure to record a victory would have meant Hearts would have gone 10 successive league games at Tynecastle without recording a win – something that has befallen no Hearts team in their near 140 year history.  They now move on to five points at the foot of the SPFL – and in confident mood ahead of Sunday’s League Cup semi-final.

Hearts: MacDonald; McGowan, McKay, Wilson, McHattie; Smith, Robinson, Hamill, Nicholson, Carrick, Paterson.

St Mirren: Kello; Naismith, McAusland, McGregor, Kelly; Newton, McGinn, Goodwin, McGowan, Campbell, Thomson.

Att: 12,422

Referee: Steven McLean

Top man: The hard-working Callum Paterson

The Long Trip to Hampden

Last Sunday, I was looking forward to my second cup final in ten months, having spent decades as a Hearts supporter enjoying only sporadic visits to the National Stadium. So it was that thousands of maroon clad supporters headed to Hampden Park with more expectation than hope given our Scottish Communities League Cup Final opponents were St. Mirren.
 

My partner, Marion, having felt she missed something by not attending the William Hill Scottish Cup Final demolition of Hibernian last year, accompanied me this time round and we set off from Leith on a cold, dank Sunday morning. However, much in the same way an attempt to rekindle the spark of an old flame can fizzle out like a damp squib, there was something about that day in the middle of March that invoked a feeling of ‘it’s not the same’ right from the off.

For a start the weather was, as we say in Scotland, driech. Dark grey clouds, a stiff breeze and intermittent rain did nothing to enhance the occasion as we set off on the 10.15 train to Glasgow. The fact there were engineering works on the main railway line between Scotland’s capital city and Scotland’s largest city meant the hundreds of Hearts fans aboard, along with the usual Sunday travellers, had to endure the ‘slow train to Glasgow’ which wasn’t going the usual route via Linlithgow and Falkirk, but another route which called at every village and town on the way. We knew we were in for a long day when we started yawning at the train’s second stop on the journey - Edinburgh Park. A trip that usually takes under an hour would take an hour and twenty minutes - although it seemed much longer.

Heavy rain greeted our arrival in Glasgow and, being a Sunday, most of the pubs weren’t open until 12.30 meaning we had time to kill. Of course, I was delighted to accompany Marion to the Buchanan Shopping Centre - I mean who wants to be supping pints of pre cup final ale when one could be looking at clothes in Next and Debenhams…?

We did manage a wee drink or two before heading to Hampden but the continual rain was literally a bit of a dampener as we headed to the East Stand and joined the thronging masses of the Hearts support behind the goal. The atmosphere as kick off approached was good but perhaps unsurprisingly, it lacked the intensity of the previous cup final against Hibernian. There was almost a feeling of ‘it’s only St. Mirren and it’s only the Scottish Communities League Cup’, the winning of which would be great to see but there would be no place in next season’s Europa League for doing so. I felt like making this point as the huge Hearts support bellowed out the European song and ‘We’re Going to Europe’ just before kick off.

When Ryan Stevenson put Hearts in front after just ten minutes I was leaping about like a ten year old rather than showing the dignity a 51 year old should be displaying, something the look on my partner’s face appeared to indicate. Most of the other 25,000 Hearts supporters did likewise and it rather shot to pieces the argument that this was a ‘wee cup’ and it didn’t really matter. Hearts in a cup final always matters.

Despite dominating the first half an hour and missing a couple of gilt edged chances, Hearts lost a goal eight minutes before half time and rather capitulated in the second half. Stevenson’s second goal eight minutes before the end of the game gave us hope, albeit of the false variety. We shuffled out of the National Stadium shortly afterwards and filed along patiently in the rain for the train at Mount Florida en route to Glasgow Queen Street via Central Station. The engineering works meant it was Queen Street Low Level, which was rather apt given the mood we were all in.

The train journey back to Auld Reekie was horrendous. Given it was full of Hearts supporters who didn’t feel like hanging around Glasgow longer than was necessary on a wet Sunday evening, the seats were all taken and so Marion and I had to stand all the way back to the capital. Well, not quite all the way - we did get a seat when the train left Edinburgh Park…

The day brought back bitter memories of the last time Hearts played St. Mirren at Hampden Park. The Maroons lost the Scottish Cup semi-final of 1987 to the Paisley Buddies and I had to endure a long, painful trek home to Aberdeen, where I was living at the time. That day, like 17 March 2013, was a depressing one.

Yet, at the end of it all, there was a feeling of a shared experience. The train on the way home was full of Hearts supporters but it was a quiet, if long journey. No one was in the mood to strike up a chorus of Glorious Hearts and the feeling was one of just wanting to get home.

Such is the life of a Hearts supporter. We have more highs and lows than a liftman’s nightmare. From the ecstatic scenes following the 5-1 thrashing of Hibernian last May to the crushing disappointment of losing to St. Mirren last week. I knew that, despite everything that has happened to our club this season, those same fans would go through the same experience all over again in the name of Heart of Midlothian FC.

Follow the Hearts and you can’t go wrong. Well, it does go wrong on occasion. But no matter what, we’ll support you ever more!

Twitter @Mike1874

Heart of Midlothian 3 St. Mirren 0

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 23 October 2010 - Tynecastle

At last! Hearts recorded their first win of the season at Tynecastle in the SPL and like last week's victory in Aberdeen it was thoroughly deserved. The return of Rudi Skacel was questioned by many but today the Czech star showed what he is made of with a fine hat-trick to destroy the Paisley Saints who sit bottom of the SPL.

Skacel opened the scoring after just 75 seconds. Fine linking play from Suso and Kyle saw Special K lay the ball into the path of Skacel and Rudi blasted home a fine shot from around twenty yards to put Hearts ahead. The home team looked good in the first half with Suso continuing his fine form of late and Skacel dictating midfield. The return of Zaliukas has made a huge difference to the Hearts defence and there was a confidence about the team that was pleasing on the eye.

Hearts doubled their lead on 24 minutes when Skacel curled home a magnificent free-kick from the edge of the penalty box. Hearts were on fire at this point and Skacel really should have completed his hat-trick just before half-time after a pulsating run by Zaliukas but the midfield man's effort was too deliberate and his shot was deflected by a Saints defender on to the crossbar.

Saints started the second half determined to get back into the game and for a little while Hearts were on the back foot. However, Calum Elliot should have scored early in the second period and it seemed like it was just one of those days for him and striker partner Kevin Kyle. It was left to Rudi Skacel to end the scoring in some style in injury time when he danced into the St. Mirren penalty box to slot the ball past keeper Samson for a memorable hat-trick.

A good day at the office for Hearts. Their first home win of the season in the league;  a clean sheet; a hat-trick from the prodigal son and, unusually for the maroons, no bookings. Oh, and Hibs lost again. Carlsberg don't do Saturdays but if they did...

Frank McGarvey Changed My Life!

Supporters of both teams at Tynecastle yesteday who followed their teams in the 1980s will recall St. Mirren striker Frank McGarvey. As well as being a forward of some repute, he is a player who helped changed the direction of my life. Let me explain.

In 1987, I was living in Aberdeen. Although I was in my mid twenties, I felt as though I was in my mid forties. I felt I was achieving nothing in life, stuck in a dead end job with no prospects. I still had ambition. I still wanted to do so many things. However, I felt trapped, unable to achieve anything with the shackles of life and work in Aberdeen hanging on me, dragging me into misery. My devotion to the mighty Heart of Midlothian FC was still total. Moreover, it was following a Hearts game that I made what was to prove to be a life-changing decision.

In the spring of 1987, I had joined the Granite City Hearts Supporters Club. I wasn’t the only Hearts supporter residing in Aberdeen and when I became aware of a Hearts supporters club in the city I decided to join this fine group of people who undertook the trek to see Hearts home and away every week. Having family commitments there was no way I could travel with the lads and lassies every week. Nevertheless, I went on the occasional journey, one of which was the Scottish Cup semi-final between Hearts and St. Mirren in April 1987. Hearts had knocked Celtic out of the cup earlier and with Rangers out in the first round the way was clear for an Old Firm free final for the second year in a row - and Hearts were favourites to lift their first piece of silverware since 1962. The semi-final against St. Mirren was seen as a passport to the final itself for the maroons and the Granite City Hearts Supporters Club set off for Hampden Park, Glasgow on a sunny spring afternoon full of expectation - which, as every Hearts fan knows, is always dangerous. The club, led by the inimitable figure of a fella called Charlie Brown, had a penchant for setting off from Aberdeen at 12 noon which meant getting to games before kick-off was usually a race against time - not helped by the tradition of stopping off at a pub in Forfar for a couple of pints and a game of pool en route to the Hearts game.

On the way to Hampden Park and the clash with St. Mirren, the bold Charlie considered it prudent to take the names of those fans wishing to go to the cup final a month later. When I ventured that, perhaps it might be worth thinking about this after the St. Mirren game I was almost booted off the coach at Dundee. Didn’t these fellas know anything about following Hearts? Against my better judgement, I put my name down to go with the lads to the final. However, somewhat predictably, Hearts were awful in the semi-final and proceeded to lose 2-1 with Frank McGarvey scoring the winner for the team from Paisley.

The trip back to Aberdeen was akin to travelling home from a family funeral. In a fit of pique, I blamed Charlie’s arrogance for costing us a trip to the final and promptly ceased my membership of the club. The following day, I sat in despair in my home in Aberdeen. Foolishly, I had been relying on football to deflect from the real problems of my life, thinking that as long as Hearts were winning and had a chance of winning the Scottish Cup all would be okay. That Sunday afternoon I made my mind up that something drastic was indeed required to sort my life out. Once my young daughter was in bed that evening I sat down with my wife and spoke to her about my feelings. She knew I was unhappy, knew my health was suffering and desperately wanted to help. I hated living in Aberdeen and wanted to change our lives for the better. The solution in my eyes was to move away from the Granite City - to a place I loved and had wanted to move to nearly a decade before. A place that was always in my heart. A place where I felt invigorated, at ease and at peace. That place was Edinburgh.

A little more than two years later I secured a job with Lothian Health Board and we headed to a new life in Scotland‘s capital city. The only regret I have is that I didn’t move sooner. Perhaps if Hearts had not lost to St. Mirren that day and had gone on to lift the Scottish Cup I may still be in Aberdeen to this day. So that’s why Frank McGarvey changed my life - thankfully for the better!

Heart of Midlothian 1 St. Mirren 0

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 16 January 2010 - Tynecastle

After last week's debacle at Aberdeen, I wasn't wholly confident Hearts would bounce back today. However, they did and this hard-earned victory over St. Mirren was Hearts sixth game unbeaten in the SPL.

The appearance of Jason Young, David Templeton and, ahem, Christian Nade did much to galvanise Hearts today. Honestly! I thought Nade played as well as he has done in a maroon shirt, although admittedly that's not difficult to beat. Young Scott Robinson also played well but the lack of goals is an on-going concern that won't go away until Hearts sign a new striker or two. They have now been linked with former Jambo Lee Miller, now at Aberdeen - but even if he were to return to Tynecastle it won't be until next season.

Michael Stewart's first half penalty was enough for all three points today. Hearts did show an improved work-rate and there are some bright young players making the breakthrough. St. Mirren seem to suffer from a similar affliction to Hearts - it just all falls to pieces in the final third of the field. The frustration that goes with this was perhaps behind Andy Dorman's piece of unsporting behaviour this afternoon - after Hearts put the ball out of play so an injured St. Mirren player could receive treatment, Dorman thought it smart not to give the ball back from the re-start. Which didn't endear the Buddies to some of the home support who still haven't forgotten St. Mirren's role in the last day of season 1985-86 when they lost 5-0 to Celtic thereby enabling The Hoops to win the league on goal difference - from Hearts...

Hearts have now consolidated fifth place in the SPL and are six points behind fourth placed Hibernian. Hearts and St. Mirren meet again in a couple of weeks in the semi-final of the Co-op Insurance Cup at Fir Park. Expect another tight game.