Levein's third force have heart for the battles ahead

SIMON PIA AT TYNECASTLE

HEARTS 3 Hartley 53, Pressley pen 60, Hamill 66
DUNDEE 1 Milne 7

WHAT makes Hearts the best of the rest outwith the Old Firm was further emphasised yesterday by the manner in which they won comfortably while not playing particularly well. Indeed, they were outplayed by Dundee in the first half yet there was always a sense their innate strengths would win out over the fragility inherent in Dundee’s play.

Craig Levein has ensured his sides, while not always the prettiest, are effective. They have physical strength, play with grit and a relentlessness that maintains the game at a high tempo which one could see Dundee were uncomfortable with even when they were on top.

With giant centre forward Mark de Vries still absent until he was brought on as a late substitute, Hearts reverted to plan B throwing up front their second-biggest player, centre back Kevin McKenna.

However, this was to cause some problems as Patrick Kisnorbo stepped in alongside Steven Pressley in the middle at the back and their lack of familiarity with each other was immediately evident. Dundee, playing 3-5-2 with Nacho Novo wide right and Stephen Milne and Steven Lovell up front, caused them all sorts of problems in the early stages.

Both Pressley and Kisnorbo were caught in possession more than once, but it was the Australian who was to pay for his laxity. With only seven minutes gone he lost control on the ball to Lovell who slipped it through briskly for Milne to run on to in the box and sidefoot with his right past Craig Gordon coming off his line.

Hearts answer to this was highly unimaginative lobbing in speculative high balls towards McKenna. The delivery was not good enough but still Brent Sancho and Lee Mair had their hands full with McKenna’s physical presence.

Meanwhile, it was up to Paul Hartley at the centre of Hearts midfield to direct play but it was in a haphazard and limp manner. However the bullish tendencies of Phil Stamp on the right, whose physique belies his technique, provided some guile.

With Dundee failing to capitalise on their first-half advantage, particularly when Lovell rounded goalkeeper Craig Gordon in 39 minutes, Hearts had the opportunity to rearrange their midfield by switching Stamp inside and putting Hartley out wide. Stamp almost turned in a header after two minutes of the restart but Speroni tipped it over.

Five minutes later the breakthrough came with the tactical rearrangement paying off. When a cross from Robbie Nielson was flicked on by the head of McKenna, Hartley had followed up into space on the right of the box to shoot in despite Dave McKay’s desperate efforts on the line.

Six minutes later Hearts had the game wrapped up when McKenna’s bustling frame won a penalty as Mark Fotheringham bumped him from behind on the edge of the box. Pressley was reliable as ever from the penalty spot - that’s ten out of ten for Hearts - although shortly after he was almost caught out, losing possession to Novo just outside Hearts’ penalty box.

A third goal followed in the 66th minute from a long throw from Nielson that Stamp flicked on. Joe Hamill took one touch before slipping it past Speroni.

However, what most animated the Hearts support throughout were the sporadic demonstrations against the board and the putative move to Murrayfield.

Hearts: Gordon; Neilson, Pressley, Kisnorbo, Maybury; Stamp, MacFarlane, Hartley, Hamill; Wyness, Mckenna

Dundee: Dundee: Speroni; McKay, Sancho, Mair; Novo, Fotheringham, Brady, Robb, Cameron; Milne, Lovell.

Referee: Hugh Dallas

Taken from the Scotsman