MX23RW : Wednesday, February 27 13:11:24
Feb 23, 2019 at 3pm UK at ​Tynecastle Stadium (Edinburgh)
Attendance: 16,705
Hearts
1-1
St Mirren
Dikamona (56')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Clare (66' og.)

Kearney hopes struggling St Mirren can build on Hearts draw

Kearney hopes struggling St Mirren can build on Hearts draw
© Reuters
It was a second successive draw for the Buddies, who are four points adrift at the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Boss Oran Kearney hopes St Mirren's 1-1 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle was another building block in their bid to avoid relegation.

The Ladbrokes Premiership's bottom side ended a run of six league defeats last week with a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

The buoyed Buddies had the better of a goalless first half against Craig Levein's side in Gorgie but fell behind in the 55th minute when defender Clevid Dikamona headed in an Olly Lee corner for his first Hearts goal.

However, an own goal from Sean Clare drew the visitors level and ultimately ensured a deserved point which took them four points behind Hamilton and Dundee, to give Kearney and the Saints fans some encouragement.

Kearney said: "I would have probably have taken one win and one defeat because we would be a point better off. But for the group, the two performances are as important as the two points.

"Carrying the consistency through from last week, we are very happy with that.

"A little bit of finishing in the first half probably let us down from maybe being in the position to grab all three.

"You are hoping that is a real catalyst and brings the group tighter together. It is so important that we keep building. The building block laid last week, we have managed to build on it this week and it is just so important that we do the same next week."

There was a St Mirren penalty claim in the first half when striker Duckens Nazon turned Dikamona on the edge of the box but referee Don Robertson gave a free-kick, with Cammy MacPherson firing well over.

Kearney, whose side conceded four penalties in a recent 4-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox, said: "Don't talk to me about penalty decisions, shouts, in and out, and lines, we have had our fair share of those.

"It is hard to know. Instinctively at the time I am shouting penalty but that's probably bias more than anything else. But it looks very very close. I would like to see it back before I made a definite comment."

A "frustrated" Jambos boss Craig Levein admitted his side fell short in various ways.

He said: "We didn't start the game particularly well and brought pressure on ourselves. We didn't pass the ball quickly or accurate enough.

"St Mirren came to do what they came to do. They did it to Aberdeen last week and they did it to us today so all credit to them.

"But when a team does defend a little bit deeper and you have a lot of the ball in front of them, the ball needs to move quickly and it didn't move quickly enough today. And also it wasn't accurate enough. Alongside that we had players who didn't play well."


Click here for more stories about Oran Kearney

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Hearts manager Craig Levein pictured in October 2018
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool27206159154466
2Manchester CityMan City27212474205465
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs27200755272860
4Arsenal27165655371853
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd27157552351752
6Chelsea26155645291650
7Watford2711793935440
8Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28117103535040
9Everton28106123939036
10West Ham UnitedWest Ham27106113540-536
11Leicester CityLeicester28105133439-535
12Bournemouth27104133848-1034
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2887132634-831
14Crystal Palace2786133135-430
15Burnley2886143150-1930
16Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2776142941-1227
17Cardiff CityCardiff2874172555-3025
18Southampton2759132846-1824
19Fulham2745182661-3517
20Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2835201550-3514

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