Steven Naismith bemoans 'cheap' Hearts as early St Mirren strike sees travel troubles pile up in Paisley

Steven Naismith admits his men let themselves down by allowing on-form St Mirren to steal into an early lead.

The Hearts boss cursed the concession of a “cheap” goal as his side flopped on their travels again. Jambos dropped to sixth and were unable to build on their victory over Aberdeen, with Naismith insisting there were multiple chances to stop Ryan Strain getting the chance that won the game. He said: “We give up a very cheap goal and then we have three good chances which we have to score.

“That’s ultimately what defined the game. St Mirren scoring so early allows them to pick their moments – when to press and when to counter-attack. We gave ourselves an uphill challenge and that’s disappointing. There is no one person you can pick out because, at times, everybody has made a mistake there. And after the goal, we weren’t clinical enough in the final third, which has cost us.

“I don’t think the quality was great. It was a very bitty and low-level game. Both teams gave up possession cheaply at times.”

Naismith thought he was going to watch captain Lawrence Shankland slip in a late leveller for a great escape. Shankland was clean through deep into stoppage time but Zach Hemming saved well. Naismith complained: “We shouldn’t be sitting waiting in the 96th minute to hopefully get a goal to get us back in the game.

“I would like us to be either in the game and pushing for a winner, or in the lead and controlling the game. We can’t give up that amount of cheap chances.”