St Mirren were beaten at Tynecastle as Hearts came from behind to defeat Saints 3-1 in the William Hill Premiership.
Mikael Mandron's fifth goal in six games gave the Buddies a thoroughly deserved half-time lead. But two goals in seven second-half minutes saw Hearts go ahead before the Gorgie side added a third in injury-time to secure the points.
Stephen Robinson named the same starting lineup that defeated Rangers at Ibrox on Saturday and that meant a 100th St Mirren appearance for captain Mark O'Hara.
A quiet opening 20 minutes was briefly stirred by a VAR check for a St Mirren penalty when Marcus Fraser was clattered by Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon as he came to collect a Declan John free-kick. But the defender was offside when the ball was played in so no penalty was awarded.
Richard Taylor made a brilliant goal-saving challenge just before the half-hour mark when Lawrence Shankland sent James Wilson in the clear. The young forward looked primed to fire the hosts ahead but Taylor showed great pace and got the challenge spot on to keep it level.
Saints hit the front on 37 minutes when Mandron scored his fifth goal in his last six appearances. Ryan Alebiosu's deep cross found John in acres of space on the far end of the box where the Welsh full-back met it first time on the volley. His effort was blocked, but it fell kindly to Mandron who finished low beyond Gordon to keep up his good run of goalscoring form.
Buddies boss Robinson was forced into two changes at the break with the introduction of Elvis Bwomono and Toyosi Olusanya in place of Alebiosu and Jonah Ayunga.
Saints had two big opportunities to double their lead a little less than 10 minutes after the restart. Taylor headed wide from a John corner before Olusanya saw an effort saved by the feet of Gordon a minute later. And frustratingly, just a minute after that, the hosts drew level. James Penrice's cross evaded the head of Alex Gogic and Taylor's attempted clearance spun up in the air before landing at James Wilson who finished beyond Zach Hemming.
Hearts took the lead on 62 minutes when Calem Nieuwenhof fired the home side ahead. It was a stunning strike from the Jambos midfielder as he curled into the net from 20 yards.
Saints thought they had been reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Killian Phillips was shown a straight red card by referee Euan Anderson after a foul on Jamie McCart. The whistler showed little hesitation in producing the red, but was advised by the VAR to review the decision on the pitchside monitor and eventually downgraded to a yellow. Phillips was then replaced by Greg Kiltie who saw a low strike held by Gordon on 83 minutes. John also had an opportunity in the final minutes of normal time when he was slipped in by Mandron, but his strike was blocked.
Hearts added a third on the counter deep into stoppage with Kenneth Vargas on the end of Jorge Grant's low pass to finish from close range.
Full-Time: Hearts 3-1 St Mirren
St Mirren: Hemming, Fraser, Gogic, R.Taylor (Idowu 90), Alebiosu (Bwomono 46), Phillips (Kiltie 77), Boyd-Munce, O'Hara (c), John, Ayunga (Olusanya 46), Mandron
Subs Not Used: Urminsky, Tanser, Kenny, Smyth, Scott
Hearts: Gordon, G.Taylor, Steinwender, McCart, Penrice, Beningime, Kartum (Spittal 66), Nieuwenhof (Grant 66), Shankland, Wilson (Drammeh 82), Kabangu (Vargas 82)
Subs Not Used: Clark, Forrest, Milne, Neilson, Forrester
Referee: Euan Anderson
Assistant Referee: David McGeachie
Assistant Referee: Ross Nelson
Fourth Official: Grant Irvine
VAR: Gavin Duncan
