ALAN GALLACHER AT DENS PARK

DUNDEE 0
HEARTS 1 Pressley 84 pen

HEARTS’ quest to again finish as the best of the rest in Scotland, if not actually splitting the Old Firm, got off to the perfect start with the type of gutsy ground-out slog of a victory any team hoping to have a successful campaign will need to call on over the months to come. They will however be hoping to make their possession pay far more tellingly to avoid having to rely on late penalties.

Hearts left Jamie McAllister and Michael Stewart cooling on the bench in a show of impressive squad depth especially with Mark de Vries and Kevin McKenna out injured. Dundee though, were just trying to adjust to life without Julian Speroni and Nacho Novo to the extent of only being able to list five substitutes.

This lack of debutants on either side didn’t stop the two most likely scorers in an opening period brimming with endeavour being two of the new boys. Hearts new boy Ramon Pereira and Dundee’s on-loan summer capture from Millwall, John Sutton gave ample warning of what they will bring their respective clubs.

Pereira, a summer signing from Raith Rovers, crashed a thumping volley off the underside of Derek Soutar’s bar midway through the half, courtesy of a delectable piece of vision from young Joe Hamill. If the Spaniard’s finish had been an inch lower we could have been looking at a very early goal of the season contender.

Dundee initially struggled to cope with a Hearts midfield driven by the energetic Paul Hartley and at times it looked only a matter of when rather than if Hearts broke the deadlock. Eventually Jim Duffy’s charges did start to find their way to goal, with Sutton showing he has the touch and physical wherewithal to trouble SPL defences.

Hearts regained control after the interval calling Derek Soutar into a string of good blocks. The big keeper showed he is capable of finally making the Dens Park number one jersey his own with saves from Stamp and Maybury.

With the game meandering aimlessly towards a 0-0 stalemate on an energy-sapping afternoon Hearts produced the best move of the game to snatch the win and the three points they probably deserved.

Dennis Wyness and Hamill combined for the latter to split the home rearguard with a piercing through ball into the path of Pereira who was bowled over by the advancing dive of Soutar. Skipper Steven Pressley shouldered the responsibility and tucked home a perfect spot kick with some panache.

Dundee: Soutar, MacDonald, Mann, Sancho, Hernandez, Jablonski (Anderson 61), Brady, Smith, Robb (Fotheringham 76), Lovell, Sutton. Subs Not Used: Jack, Larsen, McNally.

Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Maybury, Stamp (Stewart 73), Hartley, Kisnorbo, Hamill, Pereira (Sloan 86), Weir (Wyness 82). Subs Not Used; Moilanen, MacFarlane, McAllister, Berra.

Referee: Craig Thomson

Taken from the Scotsman