Hearts overcame Beni Baningim’s early red card to secure a 2-0 win over St Mirren and regain their place at the top of the William Hill Premiership with six points.
The midfielder was sent off for an ill-advised stud-up challenge on Roland Idowu after just 15 minutes, when the game was still goalless, sucking the life out of the excited Tynecastle crowd and leaving the Jambos in trouble.
But just as they did in their 1-0 win away at Dundee on Sunday, the in-form league leaders found a way to potentially secure a big win thanks to second-half goals from captain Lawrence Shankland and substitute Thomas Magnusson.
Derek McInnes’ side are currently six points behind Rangers and Celtic, who play their next league game at home on Sunday.
The Hearts manager made four changes to his side, which got off to a winning start against Dundee on Sunday, including giving Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon his first start of the season in place of the suspended Alexander Schworow.
There were three changes to Saints’ side from Saturday’s home defeat to Falkirk, with Oisin Smith still on the pitch after being recalled from his loan spell at Partick.
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Derek McInnes praised his 10-a-side Hearts side after their 2-0 win over St Mirren, spoke about the title race and gave an update on Rodgers Mato’s transfer.
Hearts looked to be in good shape early on, but a loose pass from Stuart Findlay left Baningim trapped in front of the Hearts box, with the midfielder making a reckless challenge on Idowu. The midfielder was initially given a yellow card, but it was upgraded to a red card after referee Kevin Clancy asked him to go in front of a monitor.
Hearts initially looked daunted after this unexpected setback, but were relieved to see Idowu’s superb curling shot from an angle in the box was ruled out for offside in the 21st minute.
However, the hosts soon began to regain their composure, with Claudio Braga creating two chances within a minute, first sliding a Harry Milne cross just wide at the near post, then slipping out behind the Buddies defense to burst into flames.
Lawrence Shankland scored the first goal.
Hearts should have taken the lead just before half-time when Alexandros Kyziridis removed Smith and went close to scoring, but goalkeeper George made a vital save to deny Braga the rebound.
The leaders started the second half well, with Kouziridis shooting from the right and Shankland riding on the end of Braga’s low shot from the left, whose shot was blocked by George.
Sensing an opportunity for a big win in the title race, the Ten men saw Blair Spital break down the right and fire a low shot across the penalty area, before Shankland smashed past George, sparking frenzied scenes at Tynecastle.
Just as Saints began to increase the pressure, Hearts came on to the pitch and in the 80th minute Miln’s shot was parried away by George before substitute Magnuson gleefully nodded into the empty net before scoring his second goal.
“We dug Benny out of the hole. He was in tears.”
Derek McInnes told Sky Sports:
“Tonight, players, we dug Benny out of a hole. We talked about it at halftime. The boy was in tears.
“When we needed a big performance, we got it and we just need to keep moving forward.
“We still have a long way to go and a lot of points to win, but we are in a strong position. There is no choice in this.
“We’ve been beating the teams around us. We’ve never lost to those teams. I think we’re building a lot of confidence, but we know every game is a challenge.
“Dundee, Livingston, Rangers, all the teams that play in this league. As I’ve said many times, we’re not entirely better than the other teams, but there’s something special going on here.”
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Stephen Robinson gives a scathing review of St Mirren’s tough loss to 10-a-side Hearts.
McInnes is confident Mato will be a Hearts player
McInnes is confident that Rodgers Mato will sign for Hearts, despite receiving mixed messages from his current club FK Vardar, who claim they have agreed to sell the player to Sporting Kansas City.
Less than 24 hours after Hearts announced a pre-contract deal with Ugandan international Mato, his club FK Vardar claimed they had agreed to sell the player to an MLS club.
On Tuesday, Scottish Premiership boss Hearts confirmed the forward will move to Tynecastle Park in the summer when his contract with the North Macedonian club expires.
But on Wednesday, Vardal announced he had accepted a $1 million bid, with documents from MLS claiming to prove the contract was legitimate.
“He has signed a pre-contract,” McInnes told Sky Sports.
“The boy is itching to come. I think he probably felt a lot of pressure to look elsewhere, but he kept his word. I enjoyed the conversation I had with the boy a few weeks ago.”
“This is something we’ve been targeting him for a while.
“We’re excited to bring him in and we’re happy that he’s shown such dedication to us. Other than that, I don’t really know because what we’re dealing with can only be dealt with at Hearts.”
Asked if he was hoping for a chance to participate in January, he said: “That’s certainly my hope. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it.”
