Hearts Struggle for Balance in Victory Over St Johnstone

Hearts dazzling going forward, Hearts dangling at the back. For Steven Vrancken, the theme is becoming uncomfortably familiar.

The new head coach has talked repeatedly about balance, about knitting together a side that can thrill in attack without fraying every time the ball goes the other way. On this evidence, the attacking side of the equation is ahead of schedule. The defending still lags behind.

The question this time, though, is how much of that fragility came down to sheer exhaustion. Hearts had emptied the tank in midweek, surviving a monumental test to see off Rapid Vienna with 10 men. The emotional surge, the physical toll – it all bled into this game.

For half an hour, you wouldn’t have known it.

Hearts flew out of the blocks, all fury and fluency. They racked up 11 efforts before the break, seven of them on target, pinning St Johnstone back and turning the match into a shooting gallery. In the heart of midfield, Mendy stitched it all together, barely misplacing a pass and almost capping his display with what would have been his first goal for the club, inches away from a perfect moment.

His control mattered even more given the cloud hanging over the middle of the park. Tom Renaud’s grim-looking injury in midweek threatens to sideline the Frenchman for a significant spell, stripping Vrancken of one of his key lieutenants. Mendy stepped into that void and imposed himself.

Yet every time Hearts surged, there was a nagging sense of vulnerability behind them. St Johnstone’s early goal – another one filed under “far too soft” – cut through the home defence with worrying ease. One move, one lapse, and they were exposed again.

As the minutes drained away, so did Hearts’ clarity. Simple passes went wandering. Safe options were ignored. Decision-making, so sharp early on, blurred under the weight of tired legs and tired minds. Mental fatigue joined the physical, and by the closing stages the hosts were clinging on rather than cruising.

They clung on all the same. The whistle went, the points stayed in Gorgie, and the relief was obvious. It may not have been pretty, but it sends Hearts into Thursday night’s Edinburgh derby at Easter Road with something vital: momentum.

For St Johnstone, this could easily have unravelled inside the first quarter of an hour. Concede the way they did, away from home, and plenty of sides fold. Dundee United did just that on this ground a few weeks back, a 4-0 collapse that turned into a procession for Hearts.

This Saints team refused to follow that script.

Valakari’s players steadied themselves, then began to turn the tide. They wrestled control of key areas, especially in midfield, and carved out chances that should have dragged them level. The comeback never fully materialised on the scoreboard, but the intent was unmistakable.

Jason Holt, returning to face his old club, and Sam Stanton drove that resurgence from the centre. They snapped into challenges, used the ball intelligently and forced Hearts to retreat. Ahead of them, Jamie Gullan ran the channels relentlessly, while substitutes Taylor Steven and Kai Fotheringham injected fresh energy and directness that unsettled a tiring back line.

The cutting edge, though, deserted them when it mattered most. Nothing summed that up more starkly than Josh Fowler’s big moment after the break. He rounded Reus, the goal gaping, the away end ready to explode – and then the hesitation. The shot never came, the chance evaporated, and with it went St Johnstone’s best opening to salvage something tangible.

Still, the signs are there. Valakari has a side with threat in the final third, players willing to take the ball and make things happen. The problem mirrors Hearts’ in miniature: a team that can hurt opponents, but must tighten the screws at the back.

Two teams, the same dilemma. The one that finds that balance first won’t just be hanging on in games like this – it will be deciding them.