Craig Levein praises battling Hearts after victory over St Johnstone
Kyle Lafferty's goal made the difference at Murrayfield
Craig Levein has praised his Hearts side's fighting qualities after they emerged victorious from a “war of attrition” with St Johnstone.
Kyle Lafferty decided a turgid 1-0 affair at BT Murrayfield, claiming his seventh goal of the campaign via a massive deflection off the unfortunate Joe Shaughnessy.
Sixteen-year-old Harry Cochrane, magnificent after replacing Prince Buaben at the break, also struck the base of a post as he narrowly failed to cap his classy cameo by getting on the scoresheet.
While he acknowledged the encounter was far from a classic, Levein was buoyed by Hearts' battling display ahead of their Edinburgh derby clash with Hibernian on Tuesday evening.
“It was a war of attrition,” said Levein. “But the encouraging thing for me is that in similar games in the previous couple of seasons, we haven't managed to dig out a win.
“That's what we need for every match. The more determined you are, the better chance you've got.
“You can't always guarantee you'll play well, but if you can be really difficult to beat on the days that you don't play well - like yesterday - then you can get the right result.
“I'd certainly rather go into a derby match on the back of that result.”
The win sees Hearts climb into the top six for the first time this season, leapfrogging St Johnstone into fifth.
Saints, meanwhile, have lost three games on the bounce without scoring in any of them.
The Perth team's only shot on target came in the form of a David Wotherspoon drive which was easily gathered at the near post by Jon McLaughlin.
“We are not making things happen,” rued St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright.
“Our players are good enough, they have got quality, but the frustrating thing for me is that we got into good positions but created nothing.
“That's where players at the top end of the pitch have got to stand up."