January signing Elton Kabangu helped himself to another double as Hearts stepped up their pursuit of a top-six place in the William Hill Premiership with a hard-fought 2-1 victory away to bottom side St Johnstone.
The Belgian forward bounced back from missing a string of chances in the previous weekend’s 3-1 defeat by Rangers to take his tally to seven since his arrival on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise last month as he notched either side of an equaliser from Adama Sidibeh.
It was Kabangu’s third brace in just six starts for the Jambos, who are now up to seventh and within a point of sixth-place St Mirren after being bottom of the league as recently as December 22.
Instead it is Saints – after a third successive 2-1 defeat by Hearts this term – who languish six points adrift of Dundee at the foot of the table, although they were entitled to rue a stunning game-changing save from goalkeeper Craig Gordon to deny Sam Curtis with the match poised at 1-1.
There was some doubt about whether the game would go ahead, with the pitch sodden after heavy rainfall in Perth but referee Calum Scott deemed it playable after an inspection.
Saints boss Simo Valakari made two changes to the team that lost 3-1 at Kilmarnock as Sidibeh and Graham Carey replaced Makenzie Kirk and Victor Griffith, while Hearts boss Neil Critchley started with the same side that lost to Rangers.
The grim conditions and stodgy pitch caused problems for both teams in the early stages before the Edinburgh side – after wayward shots from Jorge Grant and Blair Spittal – gradually started to get on top.
The first shot on target came for the visitors on the half-hour when James Wilson burst down the right and cut the ball back for Grant, whose effort from 10 yards out was brilliantly pushed behind by goalkeeper Andy Fisher. Kabangu then fizzed a low angled shot just wide.
The Belgian was not to be denied, however, and he made the breakthrough in the 36th minute when he slid in to turn the ball home from close range after Lawrence Shankland received possession from James Penrice, turned in the box and drilled a low angled ball across the face of goal. It was checked for offside and looked extremely tight but was allowed to stand.
Saints had offered little as an attacking force in the first half but they got themselves level in the 53rd minute when Carey crossed from the left and Sidibeh peeled off Jamie McCart to dive and head home at the far post.
The hosts almost went ahead three minutes later when Stephen Duke-McKenna – on as a replacement for Elliot Watt – crossed from the left for Curtis, who was denied from point-blank range by a brilliant instinctive save from Gordon.
It proved a pivotal moment as Hearts restored their lead within a minute when a pass from Shankland sent Kabangu clean through and the 27-year-old drove low beyond the exposed Fisher from 12 yards out.
The Tynecastle side had to dig deep in the closing stages, with Saints wing-back Drey Wright having a header ruled out for offside before Carey screwed a shot wide from close range, but they held firm to climb from 10th to seventh.
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