Last updated on .From the section Scottish Premiership

Hearts ended St Johnstone's impressive away run and moved back above their opponents into fifth in the Scottish Premiership.

The visitors had won their past six on the road, but Godinho's second of the season put the hosts in front.

St Johnstone struggled to contain Hearts, and substitute Calumn Morrison emphatically added a second late on.

And it could have been more as Jake Mulraney and Sean Clare both hit the woodwork.

After overtaking Hearts in midweek, St Johnstone slip back to sixth, two points behind, though they have a game in hand on Craig Levein's side, who close to within three points of Rangers.

Hearts' trio provide foundation

Hearts have had to do without a number of key players after their blistering start to the season that had them top of the table.

But Christophe Berra, John Souttar and Steven Naismith all featured at Tynecastle and were immense, but they were not alone.

Berra and Souttar dealt with everything thrown into their box by St Johnstone in the final throes, but it was Souttar's intervention in attack that sent Hearts on their way.

On his first start since October after a hip injury, the Scotland defender produced a Xavi-esque scoop that grazed the heads of St Johnstone's defenders. Godinho, already on the move, controlled the ball instantly and dispatched it past the on-rushing Clark.

It was always going to take something special to open up the St Johnstone defence, who had six clean sheets to go with the six victories in their last six away games, and that pass was certainly special.

The goal galvanised Hearts, who threatened to overwhelm St Johnstone, but they had opportunities before the break too.

Mulraney, playing at wing-back, was another bright spark down the left and he had an effort saved onto the post by Clark. Clare too showed more of what he is capable of, and struck the woodwork with an arrowed shot shortly before Hearts went in front.

St Johnstone attacked with intent, putting in plenty of crosses, but they struggled to fashion any clear openings and always looked vulnerable when Hearts broke forward.

And as it looked as though one goal was going to be all Hearts had to show for their efforts, they produced another fine move.

The ball was worked in-field to Oliver Bozanic, who slid in an inch-perfect pass for Morrison to slam a shot across Clark and into the bottom corner for his first goal for the club.

Calumn Morrison slammed in Hearts' second

'Naismith the focal point' - analysis

BBC Scotland's John Barnes at Tynecastle

The first half of this encounter was a low-key affair with both sides' 3-5-2 formations cancelling each other out.

Although Hearts had the greater share of possession, St Johnstone's defensive ability was evident.

Clark had gone 362 minutes without conceding a goal and his desire to improve on that was evident with a couple of important first-half saves. But that run came to and end at 413 minutes with Godinho's goal.

The influence of Naismith as the focal point of Hearts' attack can not be underestimated. His link-up play dropping back into midfield is vital to their creativity.

The statistics back that up. In Naismith's 21 appearances this season, Hearts have lost only 3 times, including the League Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic, when the the Scotland forward departed with an injury after 10 minutes. When Naismith has been sidelined either through injury or suspension, Hearts have lost another six times.

St Johnstone were rarely seen as an attacking threat at Tynecastle, which will be frustrating for Tommy Wright.

'Hearts back with a bang' - reaction

Hearts manager Craig Levein: "I was thrilled really with the performance. It was important that we came back with a bang [after defeat to Dundee]."

"[Steven Naismith] helps the team in so many ways. He's constantly talking on the pitch, which is great for me.

"St Johnstone are a hard team to play against, and I thought we restricted them to very few opportunities and had plenty ourselves."

St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright: "Probably the worst performance in a while. Not a lot come out with credit. To win any game of football you've got to compete, we were lacklustre and were dominated for large parts of the game. We got what we deserved.

"I can't be too critical of them because we've been on a good run. If you can't do the basics well and pass from A to B you're not going to win football matches."