Dundee 1 - 1 Hearts

DAVE HAMMOND at Dens Park January 24 2005

Jim Duffy, the Dundee manager, felt that the disappointment of not beating Hearts is an indication of how his side have developed over recent months, and there is certainly some truth in that.

Yet, by the same token, it is also an indication of the way in which Hearts have slipped over the same period.

Certainly, in real terms, this draw did more for Dundee's cause of avoiding relegation than it did for Hearts' desire to hold on to the third place in the league that they achieved in the last campaign.

Of course, John Robertson, the Hearts manager does not seem to know what he can and cannot do in terms of retaining and signing players, while Duffy is quietly ensuring that his promising young players commit their immediate futures to the Tayside club.

Ahead of this encounter Duffy had secured the signature of Lee Wilkie and, on this performance, it seems a pretty shrewd move. The gangling central defender slipped once early in the game but thereafter turned in a solid display at the back and even found time to forage forward and ask some questions of his Hearts counterparts.

"Lee was outstanding," enthused Duffy. "He made one mistake early on, but for the rest of the game he was excellent. He was a threat in the box at the other end as well. I was delighted with his performance." However, it was not just the performance of Wilkie that gave Duffy reason to be cheerful. Steven Robb did an excellent job of stifling the threat of Ramón Pereira and still found time to raid forward, while Neil Barrett's first-half service from wide right caused a number of problems for Hearts' defence.

The lack of a goalscoring centre forward is a serious problem for Robertson. A midfield that contains Phil Stamp and the industrious Paul Hartley can provide opportunities all afternoon, but there is a crying need for a target man to replace Mark de Vries.

"We did not take our chances," said Robertson. "We are trying a passing game, but lack the end product. Everybody is looking for goalscorers and that's what we have to find." Dundee took the lead with a stooping header from Fabián Caballero, who is beginning to return to his best form, but within six minutes Hearts had equalised via Joe Hamill, who scored with his first touch of the ball after coming on to replace the ineffective Pereira.

The game continued to flow relentlessly from one end of the pitch to the other. Hearts' commitment was underlined by the fact that they received four late bookings, Dundee's by the fact that Caballero, who was playing a striking role, drew the last of those deep inside his own half.

It was all good value for money.

Taken from the Herald