Hearts 1 - 2 St Johnstone: Final flourish is too little too late as Hearts are punished by Saints

If they play as they did for the first hour and more, they will end up treading water in the bottom six.

That frenzied finale showed that the current Tynecastle squad can still play with verve and passion while the soporific 60-plus minutes prior to that suggested they are disinclined to do so.

The dissatisfaction within their ranks is understandable given the continued non-payment of their salaries, but for the sake of the club in the longer term, they cannot allow their disenchantment to dictate how they play. Owner Vladimir Romanov’s divorce from Hearts is likely to be long and messy if his supposed asking price of £50million is any guide, and if the players’ form is affected by this protracted departure the club’s league position will not get better any time soon.

Some of those who appeared in this game will be gone in January, to be replaced by members of the current outstanding under-19 team. But inexperienced footballers are even more prone to loss of form and confidence, and there is no guarantee that those younger, hungrier players will do any better.

In such circumstances, Hearts are crying out for leadership both on and off the pitch. Manager Paulo Sergio, who along with St Johnstone counterpart Steve Lomas was serving a touchline ban here, seems to have been bewildered by recent events. Still to come to terms properly with Scottish football, the Portuguese boss is unable to plan coherently more than a few weeks ahead.

Of the senior professionals in the team, few are helping Sergio out. Centre-halves Andy Webster and Marius Zaliukas, for example, should be key stabilising elements, but in this game they were hesitant at best. Webster was taken off at half-time to accommodate a change in formation from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2, but Zaliukas could easily have gone instead.

In any case, by the time Webster went the damage was done. An early mix-up between the defence and goalkeeper Marian Kello had allowed Liam Craig to lob in a third-minute opener from the edge of the box, and St Johnstone were on their way to another impressive away performance. Hearts were lucky to go in at the break just a goal behind, though they were then unfortunate not to equalise a minute into the second-half, when substitute Stephen Elliott headed wide from a Mehdi Taouil cross. Craig immediately spurned a good chance to put his team two ahead when he shot over following a Zaliukas slip, but Hearts then had a long spell of pressure in which Ryan McGowan, Elliott and Taouil all had shots saved by the impressive Peter Enckelman.

The home team were given a gilt-edged chance to turn that pressure into a goal when David McCracken pulled down John Sutton to concede a penalty. Jamie Hamill struck the spot-kick cleanly enough, but Enckelman dived to his right to pull off a save which inspired his team-mates and deflated Hearts in equal measure.

Ten minutes later, a penalty at the other end gave St Johnstone the safety margin they had been looking for. Ryan McGowan’s clearance from close to the byeline got no further than midfielder Murray Davidson, and when Eggert Jonsson brought him down, referee Stevie O’Reilly had no hesitation in pointing to the spot for the second time in ten minutes.

Dave MacKay stepped up and made no mistake, and that should have been the signal for St Johnstone to close out the match in some comfort. Instead, Hearts roused themselves into action again, and had their hopes of taking something from the game boosted when Taouil, the home team’s most effective player, pulled a goal back with a fierce right-foot strike from just outside the penalty area.

From being easily the more composed and determined side, St Johnstone suddenly found themselves on the ropes. Hearts threw almost everything into their search for the equaliser, although that was still not enough for substitute Ryan Stevenson, who angrily confronted team-mate Adrian Mrowiec, pushing the defender after he had apparently taken the wrong option.

It was a positive sign of a player’s desire to win, Lomas said later. True enough, but it was also an indication of the dissent within Hearts’ ranks – and probably also a sign of Stevenson’s eagerness to make an impact after having started the game on the bench.

Putting that tiff behind them, Hearts fought on into stoppage time and came desperately close to snatching a point. Enckelman did exceptionally well to tip an Elliott volley over the bar, then McGowan failed to get his shot on target after the ball broke to him deep on the right-hand side of the box.

The result strengthened St Johnstone’s hold on fourth place, a position they would have lost to Hearts had the game gone the other way. Of more lasting significance, it also strengthened the feeling that the death throes of the Romanov era at Tynecastle are not going to make pleasant viewing for those of a maroon persuassion.