St Johnstone have finished the calendar year as they started it – by losing to Hearts.
The league positions after the two results are night and day, of course.
Saints end 2022 in sixth compared to rock bottom nearly 12 months ago.
And they showed fight in this contest, twice pulling themselves to within a goal.
But Hearts were the deserved winners.
Lawrence Shankland (penalty), Alan Forrest and Barrie McKay scored their goals, with strikes by Stevie May (another penalty) and substitute Jamie Murphy proving to be consolations.
Courier Sport picks out three talking points from the McDiarmid Park clash.
Through the middle
Saints’ combination in central midfield didn’t work in the early stages of the match and the visitors took full advantage.
The Hearts opener might have come from a VAR handball penalty decision but they had already established dominance in the heart of the pitch.
Graham Carey, Melker Hallberg and Ali Crawford are all tidy ball players but none of them are known for their athleticism of tackling prowess.
Just after the half-hour mark, it was 2-0, and this time the goal was a consequence of Saints being carved open.
2nd goal was criminal as a defensive unit from midfield to defence. Wasn't even a fast break of play from hearts. Saints could play all night and not score.
— Lee kelman (@kelman2627) December 28, 2022
There was no doubt they looked better balanced when Ryan McGowan was pushed into midfield following Hallberg being taken off with a muscle injury.
But in what turned into a one-goal game, the decisive stage was the first part of it.
Carey’s Harry Kane impression
For all that Saints had been second best for the first 30 minutes and deserved to be behind they did produce a strong finish to the first half.
And it really should have had a goal to show for it.
May had a couple of decent chances, Zander Clark didn’t get to grips with a Crawford deflected shot that ended up hitting his post and Carey missed a penalty.
Missed is being generous.
The Irishman’s effort wasn’t even close to getting under the crossbar.
Saints penalty was as bad as Hearts from a VAR enforced rule angle. Can't believe Carey's miss was so bad. That'll be Clark on them from now anyway. Hearts deservedly ahead unfortunately. @StJohnstone @JamTarts #STJHEA
— AlfieVille (@AlfieVille) December 28, 2022
Although May did a far better job from the spot to reduce Hearts’ lead – opting for a smash down the middle – it turned out to be a contest Saints couldn’t afford to miss one in.
All good things come to an end
It was one of the Premiership’s most enduring hoodoos and stretched back to November 12, 2010 when Derek McInnes’s not long promoted side was beaten 2-0.
The subsequent 12 years have been infuriating from a Hearts perspective and joyous from a Perth one.
That the Jam Tarts couldn’t break the spell last season when Saints were a shadow of their usual selves over that decade and a bit just added to the ‘curse’ factor.
All good things come to an end, though.
And the run of top flight matches between these teams at McDiarmid with the hosts not losing has stopped at 15.
There were a couple of penalty box near things in stoppage time but Hearts earned their hoodoo-ending victory.
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