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Second-half goals from Lawrence Shankland and Tomas Magnusson sealed the victory for Derek McInnes' side, which had Beni Baningime sent off early on at Tynecastle.

Baningime saw red after just 15 minutes, with his initial yellow card for a high challenge on Roland Idowu upgraded by referee Kevin Clancy following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

St Mirren twice had the ball in the net as it looked to capitalise on its numerical advantage during the first half, but Idowu's effort and Harry Milne's own-goal were both ruled out for offside.

However, it was Hearts that broke through on the hour mark as Blair Spittal and Alexandros Kyziridis combined before finding Shankland, who scored his 11th league goal of the season.

The hosts wrapped up the points 10 minutes from time, with Magnusson heading home a rebound after Milne was initially denied by St. Mirren goalkeeper Shamal George.

Meanwhile, Celtic remained within six points of the Scottish Premiership leader after edging out Falkirk 1-0.

The hosts looked the sharper of the two sides during the first half at Falkirk Stadium.

Yet, it was Martin O'Neill's side that opened the scoring in the 43rd minute, as Benjamin Nygren headed home his 10th league goal of the season.

Celtic was holding on towards the end. Kyrell Wilson poked wide after rounding Kasper Schmeichel, who also made a smart save to deny Ethan Williams with his feet and preserve the three points.

Celtic has now won 20 of its past 21 league matches against promoted opponents, drawing the other one, while Falkirk has lost 14 of its past 16 meetings with the Hoops in all competitions.