It may have been a break from the league campaign but the Scottish Cup still produced a familiar story for St Johnstone.
A team that has frustrated its manager with self-inflicted wounds took the gun out of the holster and shot itself in the foot again.
The eighth minute goal that shaped this cup tie was gifted to Hearts.
Near the half-way line Joe Shaughnessy sent a throw-in aimed at Murray Davidson in the centre circle. That probably wasn’t the wisest decision and it was compounded by Arnaud Djoum dispossessing Davidson and then being free to feed Kyle Lafferty. From there, the Northern Irishman was able to get his shot away with little pressure and the low angled drive beat Alan Mannus, finding the bottom corner of his net.
The rest of the first half was an even contest but the damage was done given Saints’ struggles to score goals and Hearts’ ability to prevent them.
It would be harsh to point the finger at anyone in blue and white for the second goal on 54 minutes – a slick counter-attack which culminated in a stunning finish from Demetri Mitchell.
There was no way back for Saints when Lafferty side-footed home Hearts’ third, four minutes later.
With over half-an-hour still to go, there was plenty of time for this to get ugly for the visitors but they kept going until the end and 3-0 it stayed.
