There was only one moment of mild concern here for Tynecastle fans happy to see their heroes keep themselves in the cut and thrust of the title race with a surprisingly easy win.
It came on 39 minutes. With the points already in the home side’s hip pocket thanks to a two-goal lead and a slight lull amid some excellent stuff, Josh McPake went down on the halfway line appearing to hold his left ankle.
He was down for a while, too. The pictures of his pain flashed up on the big screens in opposite corners of the stadium before the matchday director decided it better to stick up a graphic until the extent of the damage was clear.
McPake got back to his feet. He hobbled around for a bit and then got back to doing what he does best, terrorising opposition defenders.
The relief around the ground was almost tangible. If there is one guy Hearts simply cannot afford to lose ahead of what might well be a season-defining run of fixtures – and, most definitely, a strength-sapping one – it’s the 25-year-old wide man.
Hearts, on the whole, were really good here. Dominant from the start and fully deserving of a five-goal win that could have been even more comfortable. One of the great joys to be taken from watching their display, though, was McPake.
Calvin Miller scores from the penalty spot in hearts’ dominant 5-0 win over St Mirren
Claudio braga celebrates his goal for hearts at Tynecastle
His story is already a heartwarming one. Going from the stiffs at St Johnstone to winning promotion with them, moving to Hearts and becoming a Scotland player is Boys’ Own material.
What is lovely now is to see him perform with such confidence. To see the interplay he gets involved in. To see him determined to take people on and beat them, a quality becoming so rare in the game these days.
He just exudes belief and long may that continue. Of many key contributors, he did as much as any of them to make sure this victory dispelled slip-ups before the international break against Falkirk and Kilmarnock and sends Hearts into Thursday’s Conference League visit of Nordsjaelland and next weekend’s high-stakes trip to Celtic Park in fine fettle.
It was fitting that he should complete the rout with ten minutes to play, taking a diagonal pass from Malachi Fagan-Walcott, beating Liam Donnelly inside the area with consummate ease and firing a lovely effort between keeper and the near post for his third goal of the season.
The standing ovation that accompanied his removal for Stuart Findlay moments later was no more than he deserved. And the wider praise and adulation from the crowd at time-up was no more than Wouter Vrancken’s team deserved at the end of a display that carried the promise of so much more. A display that offered real hints of a team coming together.
No one in St Mirren colours, in stark contrast, was worthy of pass marks here. Alex Gogic, though, had an absolute disaster.
It was his error in the 20th minute, a needless foul from behind on Claudio Braga midway inside his own half, that laid the foundations for the Buddies’ demise here.
Miller played the free-kick towards the right of the area and Mendy made a mess of it with a header into nowhere.
He atoned perfectly, though, when the ball ricocheted off Chris Mochrie and landed back in his path, lashing a fantastic left-footed effort into the top corner at the near post.
McPake had been on point from the start, setting up Harry Milne for an early chance that had to be tipped over by goalkeeper Jacob Chapman. When Braga robbed Gogic in the centre of the field and fed the ball to him, it was panic stations at the back.
McPake surged into the area and the backtracking Gogic bundled him over as he prepared to pull the trigger. Penalty-kick. Miller then stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way and make it 2-0.
Laurent Mendy (left) celebrates breaking the deadlock for the Gorgie men
Fresh off Scotland duty, Josh McPake caused the Buddies all sorts of problems
It took only five minutes after the interval for the Jam Tarts to surge even further ahead.
McPake fed the ball onto James Wilson on the left of the area and he was very clearly tripped by substitute Liam Donnelly – one of three players brought on at the break by Saints in a vain attempt to stem the tide – just inside the box.
Miller did the business from the 12-yard mark again. His effort was fired low and hard to Chapman’s left and, even though the keeper guessed right, he simply couldn’t keep it out of the bottom corner.
At that stage, it was threatening to become embarrassing for the visitors. With 54 minutes on the clock, Braga made it four.
Miller, soon to make way for Sabah Kerjota, picked up the ball midway inside the St Mirren half and played a lovely diagonal pass to the unmarked Portuguese.
Gogic was left trailing in his wake and Braga rounded the keeper before sliding his effort home.
Saints, who had Nikolas Agrafiotis injured in the warm-up and replaced by Killian Phillips, should have scored shortly afterwards when substitute Luke Thomas put the ball over from a great position in front of the sticks after decent work from Declan John.
The truth is that they were never in this. They weren’t at the races. Gogic was caught up in controversy again when appearing to make contact with Braga inside his own box.
The Hearts forward went down holding his face but referee Nick Walsh waved away claims for another penalty and home head coach Vrancken picked up a booking for going off his trolley in the technical area.
Hearts will need everyone in the team to have their teeth sharpened ahead of these upcoming fixtures in the league and in Europe and keeper Beau Reus got in on the act late on with a great one-handed stop from Calvin Ramsay ahead of McPake’s final flourish.
The Jambos are back. And all of a sudden, everything looks up for grabs again.
