‘Hard work and belief’ were the key says Hearts saviour Sean Clare

At half-time St Johnstone might have taken a draw but by the time the full-time whistle sounded, there was no consolation in that fact.

Sean Clare rifles home Hearts equaliser in added time to rescue a point against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Saturday. Picture: SNS

Having controlled the opening 45 minutes, Hearts needed a late Sean Clare goal to claim even a share of the points after the home side had swung the balance of power, leaving Tommy Wright’s men feeling hard done by.

That late strike was enough to lift the Gorgie side off the foot of the table, though, and when both managers take the time to fully assess a captivating and action-packed match, there will be positives to offset the negatives.

For Daniel Stendel, the encouragement comes from the first-half showing. He can also take confidence from the character of his men, who, having barely flinched when losing an early goal, hit back and took command. They then somehow gathered themselves after they relinquished that superiority after the break and kept themselves in the game long enough to allow Clare to perform his salvage operation and drill his equaliser past Zander Clark with time fast running out.

It speaks to the newly-rediscovered battling qualities and a growing self-belief, and illustrates the importance of certain players who have returned from injury and the impact of others who have been added to the ranks since Stendel’s arrival.

It was the fit-again talismanSteven Naismith and January recruit Liam Boyce who grabbed the two goals needed to overhaul Stevie May’s 16th-minute opener for 
St Johnstone.

The Hearts goals came as a quick wham-bam, the Northern Irishman sending the first into the net in the 26th minute and the club captain doubling the tally four minutes later, popping up on the goalline to provide headed confirmation of John Souttar’s hooked overhead attempt at goal.

Confident in midfield where Andy Irving and Toby Sibbick were a handful, finding ways to link with the forwards and play through and around the Perth backline, the young duo also offered invaluable cover for the travelling defence.

But as the second half started, their opponents took back some of the impetus and started rushing them, they picked out the space more effectively and turned defence into attack at greater pace.

It stretched Hearts and as men such as Sibbick, who had not been playing regularly prior to his move to Gorgie, began to tire, St Johnstone had their guests rattled.

They came back at them with an Ali McCann drive in the 52nd minute and then, ten minutes later, Craig Halkett was punished for man-handling Jason Kerr at a set piece and May slotted away the penalty.

The home side then tried to put the result beyond doubt and came close on several occasions, with efforts by May, McCann, Chris Kane, Anthony Ralston and David Wotherspoon as Liam Craig pulled the strings in the middle 
of the park.

But they couldn’t get past the visiting side for a fourth time, providing the opportunity for Clare to gallop up the park from his right-back berth late in proceedings and, following a disputed throw-in in the build-up that left St Johnstone gaffer Tommy Wright harbouring a seething sense of injustice, hammer home a low screamer from the edge of the box.

The fact that the forward-turned full-back was the man to pop up at that key moment demonstrates just how much he has come on under the new boss and reflects the more general upturn in confidence in a side that is still immersed in the relegation battle but is now showing signs that it has the will and a way to escape the doldrums.

“It’s an accumulation of hard work and a bit of belief,” said Clare, who has won around disgruntled fans with his performances in recent weeks. “[The manager] he instilled a bit more belief in me and more confidence. The hard work has been going on since I came to the club. Sometimes people haven’t seen it and didn’t believe it was happening but I can assure you on the pitch and off it we’ve all been working hard.

“Just because the results haven’t been going our way it’s not looked great. But this style of play is right up my street.

“We are more organised in possession. Maybe out of possession we weren’t great today. But the first half we were 
excellent.

“There’s definitely an element of risk but the more we practise it the more secure we will be at the back. The way we play will allow us to
 score more goals and as we keep working on it the more secure we will be at the back.”