Hearts might have found themselves playing second best by the halfway stage such was the quality of United's play in the opening 45 minutes.

Tommy McLean's men won the midfield battle with their top of the table rivals during that spell.

And only some slack finishing on the part of front runners Robbie Winters and Kjell Olofsson maintained a stalemate at the interval.

Winters and Olofsson's wastefulness is a worry for United and the pair completed a fourth consecutive outing without finding the back of the net.

But United did manage a second successive clean sheet, thanks mainly to the outstanding inspiration of former Scotland star Maurice Malpas, who only decided to play in the game hours before the kick off.

The 35-year-old had suffered blurred vision in last weekend's clash with Dunfermline and held back his intentions to play until the very last minute.

His presence helped stiffen the home rearguard, with Steve Pressley starring alongside his veteran partner.

But while United may have been disappointed in their failure to clinch all three points, the night was all about Hearts' ability to maintain their advantage over the old Firm.

Jim Jefferies and his side now head for a major clash with Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday, as the Premier League's title race gains momentum.

United had the better of the scoring opportunities during an opening half they dominated.

Robbie Winters squandered a 14th-minute opening. Olofsson supplied an inviting cross but Winters, only 12 yards from goal, failed to find his target with a wretched finish.

That encouraged Hearts to pressure their hosts for the first time and a Stephane Adam header inched over the top on the half hour mark.

But United's ability to carve out chances for themselves showed against in the 36th minute when Winters supplied a perfect cross only to see Olofsson's header fly tantalisingly wide of the far post

The second half saw Hearts come more into contention, although the better chances continued to fall to the home side.

Craig Easton saw a 25-yarder scrambled clear by Hearts keeper Gilles Rousset and Winters finally had the ball in the visiting net, only to have it chalked off because team mate Andy McLarne had overrun the ball out of play before crossing.

In injury time there was almost a winner from United, with substitute Gary McSwegan angling his attempted finish only a fraction wide of the far post after a Hearts defensive mix-up.

Teams:

Dundee Utd: Dykstra, Bowman (Skoldmark 66), Malpas, Pressley, Perry, Pedersen, Olofsson (McSwegan 82), Zetterlund, Winters, Easton, McLaren.

Subs Not Used: Dolan.

Booked: Perry, Zetterlund.

Hearts: Rousset, Locke (McManus 49), Pointon (Hamilton 87), Weir, Salvatori, Ritchie, McCann, Fulton, Adam, Cameron, Flogel.

Subs Not Used: Quitongo.

Booked: Pointon, Cameron.

Att: 10,402

Ref: K Bisset (Inverness).


Taken from sportinglife.com