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3 St Johnstone talking points as Perth side shoot themselves in the foot in 3-2 defeat to Hearts

A dejected Andy Considine at full-time.
A dejected Andy Considine at full-time after losing to Hearts. Image: SNS.

St Johnstone went down to their third defeat in a row under the late summer Edinburgh sun.

And this one will be the hardest to stomach.

A Graham Carey sixth minute beauty from outside the box, when the Irishman cashed in on a poor Craig Gordon clearance, gave them the fast start they wanted.

And, after going into the break 2-1 behind to goals scored by Kye Rowles and Liam Boyce, Andy Considine headed home an Ali Crawford corner at the back post after Stevie May had glanced it on to level things up.

But Liam Gordon gave away a late penalty, bringing down Barrie McKay, and Lawrence Shankland made him pay a heavy price with the spot-kick winner.

Courier Sport picks out three talking points from the Tynecastle clash.


A point (or more) that got away

This really did feel like an opportunity missed.

Saints started the game well – pressing high, committing men forward and getting Carey’s opening goal as their reward.

They also ended up playing a Hearts team which was visibly wilting as a consequence of their Thursday night European fixture and players getting taken off injured left, right and centre.

The Perth side deserve credit for two excellent goals – one a set-piece from the training ground and the other a moment of individual quality.

St Johnstone’s Graham Carey celebrates his goal.

But when you concede three awful ones, it’s the definition of shooting yourself in the foot.

This was a far cry from the defensive solidity that had underpinned the early weeks of the Premiership campaign.

A free header from a corner, a backline sliced open and a rash penalty box challenge to give away a penalty is a nasty tasting cocktail.


Daniel Phillips

Put it down as a Sunday afternoon for the young midfielder to forget.

There was an early warning sign he wasn’t at – or near – the top of his game when the former Watford man coughed up possession in midfield, setting in motion a Hearts attack that nearly culminated in a free-kick equaliser.

He didn’t learn his lesson.

After getting caught on the ball near his own box, Hearts won a corner and got their first goal (albeit he wasn’t the one culpable for allowing a free header).

Then for the hosts’ second, Phillips dithered when he needed to challenge Peter Haring and a few seconds later Liam Boyce was heading the ball past Remi Matthews (again the defending was really poor from his team-mates).

Daniel Phillips tackles Cammy Devlin.

A booking for a foul on Cammy Devlin near the end of the first half prompted Callum Davidson – wisely – to replace him at the break.

Just before John Beaton blew his whistle there was another unforced error that Matthews had to mop up.

Hopefully a testing 45 minutes of Scottish Premiership football will be the making of Phillips.


Change of gear needed

Clusters of fixtures will mean different things for different clubs at different stages of the season.

For St Johnstone they have just got to the end of the ‘difficult start’ one.

Given the calibre of the teams they have faced thus far, three points out of a possible 15 isn’t quite as concerning as it might sound.

The ‘must win’ one out of that little lot, Motherwell, did indeed produce a victory.

Now comes the ‘but’ – they now have to move into another gear.

St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Ross County and Dundee United is  cluster number two.

Seven points feels like par.

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