Hearts lift 4,428-day McDiarmid Park hex and rise to third with captivating five-goal thriller at St Johnstone

The wait is over for Hearts. The hex of St Johnstone and McDiarmid Park lifted. After 4,428 days the Gorgie side have defeated the Saints of Perth in their backyard within 90 minutes, winning 3-2 in a captivating encounter.

Across 12 years, one month and 15 days, 17 games without success in normal time. The caveat, they did win one of those fixtures in extra-time via club legend Marius Zaliukas on the way to Scottish Cup success in 2012. Across all those years, 20 different teams had defeated St Johnstone in Perth It would only be fitting to have the late, great Norm Macdonald read out the full list but the CliffsNotes: Celtic claimed success 18 times. Hibs and Aberdeen seven and 11 times respectively. Partick Thistle and Killie won six times each. Even Dunfermline Athletic, back when they were a top-flight club, managed it. As did a team called FK Trakai.

So much has changed and happened in that time. Back then, when Kevin Kyle and Ryan Stevenson scored in a 2-0 win, you couldn’t tell Alexa to play the Pigeon Detectives. Lionel Messi was on 155 club goals. He's now on 706. Since, Saints have won two Scottish Cups and League Cup. Hearts a Scottish Cup and two Championship titles, while also entering and exiting administration.

When Willie Collum blew his whistle there was a real purpose to the Hearts team. As if the voodoo had to come to an end. Perhaps it was also for Craig Gordon, their stricken captain whose season is over after a double leg break. Saints were immediately on the back foot. There were two early penalty calls, a portent for what was to come. Jorge Grant hit the post before the visitors went ahead, Lawrence Shankland, a superb focal point throughout, converting a penalty awarded after a Collum VAR check for handball.

Hearts, like an excitable cat flaunting a caught mouse in front of its owner, had St Johnstone where they wanted them but without a killer blow. Andy Halliday missed the chance to do so before setting up Alan Forrest who prodded past Remi Matthews after fine patient play.

Suffering to life the curse

Then more penalties. Graham Carey blazed over after another VAR check much to the bemusement of all of those at McDiarmid Park. May, after being denied by Zander Clark from a tight angle before the interval, showed his team-mate how to do it after the break having been felled by Robert Snodgrass.

At that point, after a 12 year wait, Hearts would have been expected to suffer some more from a resurgent home side. They had to see out 35 minutes. Or so they thought. Barrie McKay, within seconds of stepping off the bench, jinked past a challenge and bent a lovely effort past Remi Matthews from outside the box. Then back to suffering. This is a St Johnstone side which simply don't give in, Jamie Murphy driving forward and firing low past Clark. Eleven minutes to survive. Then four more. Then a big chance for Alex Mitchell. Then it was over.

Lawrence Shankland put Hearts ahead against St Johnstone from the penalty spot. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

It may not have reached the level of the Billy Goat curse and Chicago Cubs’ 108-wait to finally win another World Series baseball title. But it has been lifted and in doing so lifted Hearts into third as 2022 ends.

St Johnstone (3-5-2) – Matthews; McGowan (McPherson 70’), Gordon, Considine; Wright, Hallberg (Mitchell 26’), Carey (Wotherspoon 70’), Crawford (McLennan 67’); Clark, May.

Hearts (3-4-3) – Clark; Sibbick, Rowles, Cochrane; Forrest (Smith 63’), Devlin, Snodgrass, Halliday; Grant (McKay 63’), Shankland, Ginnelly (Kiomourtzoglou 77’).