Substitute Kenneth Vargas scored his first Hearts goal to secure a 1-0 victory over Livingston and ease the pressure on manager Steven Naismith.
The Jambos started the night in the bottom six of the cinch Premiership and, after failing to win any of their previous three matches, they looked set for more frustration until their Costa Rican summer signing stepped off the bench to make their dominance over the Lions count in the 79th minute.
Livingston boss David Martindale – who was the subject of a failed approach from St Johnstone regarding their managerial vacancy earlier this week – was left frustrated as his side suffered a third straight defeat to slip to second-bottom spot.
Naismith made five changes to the side that started Sunday’s agonising 2-1 defeat away to Rangers as Stephen Kingsley, Alan Forrest, Cammy Devlin, Alex Lowry and Liam Boyce replaced Toby Sibbick, Odel Offiah, Jorge Grant, Calem Nieuwenhof and Vargas.
Martindale also rang the changes following Saturday’s 2-0 loss at home to Dundee, with goalkeeper Shamal George, Cristian Montano, Luiyi de Lucas, Dan MacKay, Bruce Anderson and Steven Bradley dropping out to make way for Jack Hamilton, Scott Pittman, Miles Welch-Hayes, Mo Sangare, Andrew Shinnie and Stephen Kelly.
Forrest – playing at wing-back for Hearts – had the first effort of the night from the edge of the box but it lacked the power to trouble former Jambos No.1 Hamilton.
At the other end, Kelly shot over the bar from distance but it would prove to be the Lions’ only notable attempt of a match largely controlled by the hosts.
Captain Lawrence Shankland threatened in the 14th minute when his powerful goal-bound strike from the edge of the box was bravely headed behind for a corner by Lions skipper Mikey Devlin.
The Hearts striker went even closer in the 20th minute when he curled a shot against the crossbar after the ball broke into his path 12 yards out.
The hosts continued to enjoy the majority of the ball but struggled to create clear chances against a well-organised Lions side. Shankland endured more frustration when his ferocious shot from the edge of the box was brilliantly beaten away by Hamilton.
Naismith made a change at half-time as Grant replaced Devlin in a move designed to inject more invention into Hearts’ play.
They continued to probe early in the second period, with Kingsley seeing a strike tipped behind by Hamilton before Lowry shot just over. Shankland then drove another effort agonisingly wide.
The half-chances and near-misses continued for Hearts but, just as it looked like it was not to be their night, Vargas – 10 minutes after entering the fray – stole in at the back post to get on the end of an inviting ball across goal from Grant and fire home from close range.
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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