Classy Hearts go clear at the top

STEPHEN HALLIDAY
AT TANNADICE

Dundee Utd 0

Hearts 3 Pressley (6), Bednar (12), Skacel (90)

Referee: C Richmond. Attendance: 11,654

THE Hearts bandwagon rolled in and out of Dundee triumphantly yesterday, the ever growing number of believers in Vladimir Romanov's revolution savouring the moment as George Burley's team placed clear water between themselves and the Old Firm at the top of the Bank of Scotland Premierleague.

It was party time for the 5,300-strong visiting support at Tannadice as a group of players who have gelled far quicker than anyone, Burley included, could have anticipated maintained their perfect and free-scoring start to the championship campaign with a clinical and at times classy defeat of Dundee United.

These are very early days, of course, but they are also remarkably heady ones for an energised Hearts support who will make no apologies for milking these moments for all they are worth. While the ever- pragmatic Burley continues to dismiss any notion of a sustained and credible challenge for the title, the early evidence suggests this welcome distraction to the Rangers and Celtic duopoly has considerable legs in it yet.

The Hearts players appeared hugely comfortable riding the wave of euphoria which had been stirred by the previous Sunday's derby dismantling of Hibs and swept into a 2-0 lead over a stunned United in the opening 12 minutes with goals from Steven Pressley and Roman Bednar. The admirable efforts of the home team to recover were successfully resisted by a defence in which Greek international left-back Takis Fyssas made a composed debut and the destination of the points was certain long before Rudi Skacel's stoppage time strike for the SPL leaders.

It is perhaps almost 20 years since a Hearts support descended upon the City of Discovery with such a buoyant sense of expectancy. While their championship bubble was burst across the road at Dens Park back in 1986, the thrilling start made by the cosmopolitan class of 2005 here ensured the enthusiasm which has enveloped the club in the formative stages of this season would not yet be dissipated.

In a first half of gratifying quality, both sides had already come close before Hearts made their sixth-minute breakthrough. A well-struck Barry Robson effort was beaten away by Craig Gordon, before the visitors immediately swarmed to the other end where Skacel's shot prompted an equally smart save from Derek Stillie. The United goalkeeper, however, was comprehensively beaten by Pressley's well taken opener.

Grant Brebner's reckless challenge on Saulius Mikoliunas gave Hearts a free-kick on the right which Skacel curled in beyond the defending United players into the path of Pressley, the captain's firm header planting the ball firmly beyond Stillie's right hand into the corner of the net.

Jim McIntyre squandered the opportunity to quickly restore parity for United, sending a free header wide from a Robson corner, and the sense this would be an afternoon when things would continue to fall in Hearts' favour was reinforced when they doubled their lead in the 12th minute. United fluffed two chances to clear the ball effectively from a Hearts corner on the right, and when a cutback from Saulius Mikoliunas dropped to Julien Brellier on the edge of the penalty area, the Frenchman lobbed a perceptive pass over the top of the advancing home players.

It picked out Bednar's run perfectly, the burly Czech striker displaying impressive touch and composure as he steadied himself before drilling a left-foot shot beyond Stillie from around ten yards. Stillie was then required to make a wonderful save to prevent Bednar putting the contest beyond any reasonable doubt even before quarter of an hour had elapsed.

It was to United's credit that they were able to recover their poise and reach half-time with a justifiable feeling that the scoreline was a harsh reflection on their efforts. They actually managed to fashion more clear-cut opportunities than Hearts before the interval but were betrayed by wasteful finishing as David McCracken, Mark Kerr and then McIntyre once more all failed to trouble Gordon from excellent positions.

When the Hearts keeper was tested, he was not found wanting, and as he stretched out his right hand to claw Robson's header behind for a corner at the start of the second half, even the most optimistic United supporters must have accepted the game was all but up for their side.

Lee Miller, predictably taunted throughout by the Hearts supporters after turning down a permanent move to Tynecastle during the summer, did put the ball in the net for United when he converted a Kerr cross from close range but the striker was correctly flagged offside. The introduction of debutant David Fernandez in place of the toiling Stevie Crawford did nothing to revitalise the home team who grew increasingly weary and dispirited in the closing stages.

Lee Wallace, who displayed terrific energy and imagination during his half hour as a replacement for Brellier in midfield, twice came close to stretching Hearts' lead while the ubiquitous Paul Hartley was denied a tremendous individual goal by Stillie's alert block. The final flourish to another glorious Sunday afternoon for the Hearts supporters came in the first minute of stoppage time when Bednar cut the ball back into the path of compatriot Skacel from the left edge of the United penalty-area for the midfielder to lash in his third goal in as many games via the underside of the crossbar.

Dundee United: Stillie, McCracken, Duff, Archibald; Wilson, Kerr, Brebner, Robson; Crawford (Fernandez 61); Miller, McIntyre. Subs not used: Samson, McInnes, Dodds, Kenneth, Robertson, Cameron.

Hearts: Gordon, Neilson, Pressley, Webster, Fyssas; Mikoliunas (McAllister 46), Hartley, Brellier (Wallace 61), Skacel; Jankauskas (Pospisil 74), Bednar. Subs not used: Banks, Simmons, Cesnauskis, Berra.

Taken from the Scotsman