St Johnstone made it two wins in a row following this narrow but deserved victory over Hearts at McDiarmid Park thanks to a second half Graham Cummins goal.
There may not have been goals galore but this was a thoroughly entertaining match for the watching crowd that included Scotland manager Gordon Strachan.
Hearts made the better start and created a succession of chances with the first falling to Bjorn Johnsen in the ninth minute but his shot was easily saved by Saints keeper Zander Clark.
The Jambos’ Tony Watt then had a shot blocked on the line by home defender Richard Foster before the visitors launched a break from inside their own half with Sam Nicholson squaring the ball to full-back Faycal Rherras. He looked certain to score but Clark pulled off a fantastic save to deny him.
The keeper came to the rescue once again in the 25th minute when Saints gifted possession to Jamie Walker and Clark produced another vital acrobatic stop.
St Johnstone had struggled to carve out openings but shortly after, Steven MacLean played a neat pass into Murray Davidson who burst into the Hearts box but the big midfielder scuffed his shot.
Cummins then sent a header flashing just over when he probably should have at least hit the target and the teams headed down the tunnel at half-time with the game goalless.
Just five minutes after the restart, Clark denied Hearts once again when he dived high to keep out a 22-yard Tony Watt free-kick.
The keeper then had to look lively to save a goalbound Igor Rossi header.
However, it was Saints who took the lead in the 58th minute when a Liam Craig shot from the left was diverted into the goal from six yards by Cummins past the helpless Hearts keeper Jack Hamilton.
The Jambos stopper’s heart was in his mouth in the 70th minute when he came mighty close to fumbling a long-range Craig effort over his own line.
Seven minutes later, Hearts boss Robbie Neilson was sent to the stand by referee John Beaton.
Hearts came agonisingly close to equalising in the 89th minute when Callum Paterson smashed a header off Clark’s crossbar but Saints would not be denied and saw out the game to take all three points.
For full report, reaction and analysis, see Monday’s Courier.
