Hearts 3 Dundee 0

Goals from Kevin McKenna, Paul Hartley and substitute Dennis Wyness gave managerless Hearts a comfortable 3-0 victory against 10-man Dundee at Tynecastle.

The Gorgie club had been rocked 24 hours before the game with the news that head coach Craig Levein had left for Leicester but the players showed few after-effects with an easy three points.

McKenna's angled strike from 16 yards to open the scoring in 33 minutes followed a spell of pressure which saw Dundee defender Jonay Hernandez sent off for conceding a penalty with a foul on McKenna, which Gorgie captain Steven Pressley crashed off the bar.

The Edinburgh side controlled most of the game and then wrapped up the points late in the second half with a Paul Hartley strike before Wyness, on earlier for Ramon Pereira, grabbed the third with the last kick of the game.

It was the 13th minute before Hearts eventually created a chance but when a Robbie Neilson cross from the right found Pereira alone inside the Dundee box, the former Raith player's volley from 16 yards went high over the bar.

But the visitors should have taken the lead three minutes later when defender Stephen McNally split the Hearts defence with a through ball to find Fabian Caballero going in on goal but Craig Gordon was quick off his line to save at the second attempt.

Moments later, with the home defence still surprisingly ragged, Caballero cleverly sent Steve Lovell clean through but again Gordon was equal to the task, brilliantly blocking the striker's shot from 12 yards.

It was not the greatest of games but there was high drama in the 25th minute when the home were awarded a penalty after an incident which left Dundee with only 10 men on the park.

Pereira sent McKenna in on goal at the edge of the Dundee box but the big Canadian was sent crashing to the ground by Hernandez just as he moved inside the penalty area.

Referee Craig Thomson immediately red-carded the Dens defender and when the penalty was eventually taken, Jambos skipper Pressley crashed the spot kick off the bar before it was eventually cleared to safety.

A minute later McKenna latched on to a Paul Hartley cross from the right but his powerful header also hit the bar and rebounded away from danger.

But the Jambos were not to be denied and on 33 minutes, when Pereira again set up McKenna, the striker's shot was too powerful for Derek Soutar and the ball arched into the back of the net.

After the interval the 10-man visitors had the unenviable task of battling their way back into a game but from the re-start it was Hearts who were intent on adding to their lead.

And in the 52nd minute the Tynecastle side again struck woodwork through the impressive McKenna.

Hartley's whipped-in cross from the right was flicked onto the bar by McKenna from close range before Bobby Mann gratefully swept the ball away to safety.

As the second half moved into its closing stages there were a few nerves around Tynecastle as the clinching second goal just would not arrive.

But in the 81st minute the Jambos eventually sealed the points with a well-worked goal after substitute Graham Weir, on just three minutes earlier for Joe Hamill, sent Hartley racing clear on the right.

The on-form midfielder steadied himself before confidently drilling a low shot past Soutar and into the far corner of the net.

Right on the final whistle Hearts substitute Wyness, on moments earlier for Pereira, slammed in number three from 12 yards out.

Taken from sportinglife.com