Hearts fans call for Steven Naismith to go after slumping to St Mirren defeat

Posted Sunday, September 22, 2024 by PA

Hearts fans called for Steven Naismith to be sacked as their woeful start to the season continued with an eighth consecutive defeat in all competitions away to St Mirren.

Toyosi Olusanya scored the decisive goal for the Buddies in the 34th minute to consign the beleaguered Jambos to a 2-1 loss in Paisley and leave them rooted to the foot of the William Hill Premiership.

Naismith was rewarded with a contract extension early last month after leading the Edinburgh side to third place last season.

However, Hearts’ board now face a big decision over whether to keep faith with their manager after a notable section of the 1500-strong travelling support made their feelings clear, chanting
obscenities and jeering his substitutions long before the end of this latest dismal display.

St Mirren – who had not won any of their previous seven matches – made one change to the side that started the 2-2 draw with Kilmarnock as Killian Phillips replaced Roland Idowu.

Naismith – without a win of any kind since May 11 – also made one alteration to the team that started the 2-0 defeat at Celtic, switching from 3-5-2 to 4-2-3-1, with Blair Spittal coming in for Kye Rowles.

The visitors started with intent as Kenneth Vargas burst down the right straight from kick-off and his ball across goal picked out Spittal, whose shot from 15 yards was blocked by Saints defender Marcus Fraser before Vargas headed over from close range.

But Hearts’ bright start was rendered irrelevant when they fell behind in the eighth minute as Mark O’Hara’s corner to the edge of the six-yard box was knocked into the net by a combination of Saints defender Richard Taylor and Jambos full-back Gerald Taylor.

The Edinburgh side got themselves level from a corner of their own in the 18th minute when Craig Halkett ran to the front post and glanced home a header from Spittal’s delivery.

Saints regained the lead from another set-piece in the 34th minute, however, when Alex Gogic’s free-kick was flicked on by Phillips and Olusanya ghosted in behind the Hearts defence to fire home an emphatic finish from the angle of the six-yard box.

Buddies goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe was called into action in the 43rd minute to push behind a powerful 20-yard strike from James Penrice, and at the other end, Halkett slid in to make a vital block on Olusanya just before the break.

Naismith sent on Daniel Oyegoke in place of Taylor at the start of the second half, but, for all that the visitors desperately needed a response, St Mirren looked the likelier side to score again, with Olusanya, Gogic and substitutes Kevin van Veen and Idowu all spurning good chances to add sheen to their first league win since the opening weekend of the season.