Grant aid sees off the Jambos

MOIRA GORDON
AT TANNADICE

DUNDEE UTD 2-1 HEARTS

Robson 37; Brebner 90 (Dundee Utd)
Miller 38 (Hearts)

DUNDEE UNITED’S season has been blighted by hard luck stories but at the end of a fairytale week, there was another happy ending. Grant Brebner was the embodiment of the team’s never-say-die spirit, but while the former Hibs player’s stoppage-time winner took his team two places above the relegation zone and helped ease the pressure, it heaped plenty of it on to the shoulders of Hearts manager John Robertson.

With Livingston winning at Easter Road, victory was vital if United were to remain ahead of them at the foot of the table and pinning Hearts into their own area with corner after corner in the closing minutes, they finally reaped the reward of their endeavour when Brebner drilled a sensational effort past the helpless Craig Gordon.

It was the perfect end to a perfect week for the side who have had more tears than cheers this term. But for Hearts it signalled only more gloom and means they have now won just twice in eight games.

In these convoluted days of ever-changing league configurations, fans, players and management need eyes and ears at every ground just to keep track of the scores and their implications and every one of yesterday’s SPL games had some sort of knock-on effect on a team playing elsewhere.

Hearts were a side who had been cast adrift in the race for a UEFA Cup place, while United were the new favourites to escape the drop. But that’s the difference a week can make in the current footballing climate. In the preceding seven days, Gordon Chisholm’s men defied their status to progress to the final of the Scottish Cup and dish out Rangers’ first home defeat of this domestic campaign, while Hearts saw their cup journey halted at the semi-final stage and, thanks to a derby defeat, instead of chasing third place they now seem doomed to chase shadows for the remainder of the season.

United are only too aware that the good work could quickly be undone in the dog-eat-dog world of post-split skirmishes, but having run Celtic close, lost narrowly to Hibs one week before beating them the next, and then edged out Rangers, a decent result against a Hearts side weakened by the absence of Paul Hartley and first-choice full-backs Robbie Neilson and Lee Wallace, would give them greater leeway.

If United were to finish the game in a flurry of corner kicks, they started the game in similar fashion. Three within the first ten minutes signalled their intent and, while not converting the set pieces into decent scoring chances, it allowed them to settle into the game. Hearts were restricted to a half-hearted penalty claim when Lee Miller was grounded in the box under the close attentions of Mark Wilson, and a 25th-minute Joe Hamill drive, which scooted just wide.

Hearts were beginning to accumulate a few missed opportunities when a Jamie McAllister free-kick in the 27th minute was headed goalward by Miller and saved by Tony Bullock, while another McAllister set piece was deflected out for a corner four minutes later, from which Hearts should have taken the lead. Salius Mikoliunos, returning from his six-match ban, was on duty at the corner flag and his delivery was narrowly headed over by Hearts captain Steven Pressley.

In between those chances, chaos reigned in the Hearts defence and only a desperate block by young Jason Thomson prevented Stuart Duff stabbing in the opener. That frenetic end-to-end action was par for the course but, giving Hearts boss cause to rue his team’s profligacy, it was United who eventually stole the initiative. A Thomson slip-up allowed Barry Robson to steal in and finish.

"If you don’t take your chances, it will cost you. People have got to stand up and be counted," said Robertson, suggesting he is now feeling the strain. "It’s not players who lose their jobs with mistakes, it’s managers and coaches. They kill you and that’s what’s happening to us. We’re losing too many soft goals."

The goal did stimulate Hearts, though, and they hit back a minute later when McAllister’s cross was headed into the net by Miller. At that stage a draw would still probably have been accepted by United, who know that any points are better than none, but that was before news filtered through that Livingston were winning at Easter Road. If that news fired up the home side, it also added a little something to Hearts’ approach as they glimpsed a chink of light in their European bid.

Brebner had the best early chance of the second half, a rasping drive which forced a save from Gordon, but Hearts matched them with a close call at the other end when Pressley had a chance to stab the ball home and, as the half wore on, Dennis Wyness should have contributed more in front of goal. The fact he didn’t set the stage for the frenzied finale.

"You could see the determination in the closing stages," said Chisholm. "Grant’s goal was worthy of winning any game and scoring so late on was satisfying because we’ve lost a lot of last-minute goals this season.

"Hopefully it’s a sign of our luck changing, but at this stage of the season everyone is battling down there and there are probably a few more twists and turns left."

That may not be good for the nerves but it makes for compelling viewing.

Taken from the Scotsman