St Mirren made to rue missed chances as Hearts eke out win at Tynecastle
dailyrecord.co.ukSt Mirren missed the chance to jump up to fourth spot in the Premiership after a fruitless Friday night trip to the capital.In front of a packed Tynecastle, the Buddies were comfortable throughout the first half but found themselves behind at the break after a slick move saw Barrie McKay curl the hosts in front.The Saints pressed hard for a second half leveller, with Hearts keeper Zander Clark pulling off a superb double save to deny both Greg Kiltie and Curtis Main.Despite a gusty overall performance from the Paisley side, the hosts managed to hold on to strengthen their grip on third spot - with St Mirren staying in sixth.Saints went into the game without suspended trio Marcus Fraser, Ethan Erhahon and Charles Dunne, with full-back Ryan Strain injured.Thankfully the Paisley side did have one personnel boost at Tynecastle with experienced centre back Declan Gallagher passed fit enough to start, with recent recruit Richard Taylor handed a tough-looking first start in the stripes.After an uneventful opening 10 minutes the Buddies were presented with an excellent chance to break the deadlock.
After a Ryan Flynn corner broke down, the ball eventually fell to Curtis Main who curled an effort meekly at Clark with the goal at his mercy.The Saints were more than holding their own in the capital and fashioned another opportunity when Alex Greive cleverly cut inside his marker and set up Keanu Baccus.
The Australia international fired wide from the edge of the box as the visitors continued to impress.St Mirren keeper Trevor Carson had been a virtual spectator in the opening 20 minutes but he was alert to snuff out Lawrence Shankland's header from a pinpoint Robert Snodgrass free-kick.Baccus was extremely unfortunate to go into
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