Delighted Robbie Neilson praised his patched-up Hearts stars and insisted things were so bad he could only throw on goal hero Ellis Simms for 20 minutes.
The Jambos travelled north without top stars like Craig Halkett, John Souttar, Stephen Kingsley, Andy Halliday, Ben Baningime and Michael Smith but still managed to extend their unbeaten run to nine games.
The Scottish Cup finalists were also able to tighten their grip on third place as they moved 19 points ahead of their nearest rivals Dundee United.
