St Mirren manager Danny Lennon hailed the character of his players for defying what he claimed were expectations that his team would “crumble” in their crucial Scottish Premiership clash with Hearts.
Saints secured their first win of the season and only their second in the 17 games since beating Hearts in the League Cup final in March as a 2-0 success at Tynecastle moved them 12 points above the bottom side.
John McGinn headed a 42nd-minute opener following a positive first-half display from the visitors and Paul McGowan capitalised on an uncharacteristic mistake by goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald in the 58th minute.
Hearts had gone into the game looking to further cut the gap created by their 15-point administration penalty, but St Mirren, after weathering a lively first 10 minutes from their hosts, built impressively on their performance in picking up their second point of the season against Aberdeen on Monday night.
Lennon said: “The character has been in question, it has been thrown at us in recent weeks, myself and the character of my players, and I am glad at times like this that it’s character that is required because I certainly know I have it in abundance in that dressing room.
“Where we have been, they say that lean spells in football are character-building exercises. I certainly know I’m a fighter and those guys in there are fighters.”