THERE WILL be no win bonus for the Hearts players to fret about this week. Just 24 hours after belatedly being paid the wages due to them, Csaba Laszlo's side were demolished by Dundee United in a one-sided game.

Last time Hearts visited Tannadice they had three players sent off in a 4-1 defeat. This time the margin was the same, but although the visitors had another player red-carded, the dismissal of Eggert Jonsson came well after United had sealed the win.

It was a satisfying performance by Craig Levein's side. Although it was their first home league win since March, the corner has well and truly been turned after a sticky start to the season. This was United's third win in eight days, with no goals conceded.
advertisement

"We've been playing all right this season, but just not getting what we deserved," Levein said. "The players rolled their sleeves up and gave it everything today."

Inspired by midfielders Craig Conway and Scott Robertson, United ran the game and might have won by more had their strikers been more productive. Hearts manager Laszlo denied the problem with the players' wages had any effect on the performance, and accepted his side had been beaten by the better team on the day. "The payment issue had no effect on the result," he said. "We must learn from this and do better in the next game. It is hard for everybody but life must go on."

The first half emphatically belonged to United, who started and finished it strongly. John Daly, who missed the midweek win against Airdrie because his wife was giving birth, and Willo Flood were restored to the ranks as Levein's side started eagerly.

Daly rattled Marian Kello's crossbar with a header in the fourth minute after Conway had won, and taken, a corner on the left. Then five minutes later, Lee Wallace made a bad mistake to leave United right back Sean Dillon with only Kello to beat, but the Hearts keeper was up to the challenge.

The visitors looked incapable of troubling United defenders Lee Wilkie and Darren Dods. The Hearts central halves may also have had the measure of Daly and the lethargic Fran Sandaza, but the difference was that the United midfield was far more threatening when bursting forward.

Levein's side had a third great chance to go ahead midway through the half when Robertson, who had a very impressive game, met a Flood free-kick with a backward header which looked to be looping into the net before Kello succeeded in tipping the ball over the bar.

As so often happens, United had lost their initial impetus and the game was in a lull when, unexpectedly, the home side went ahead. Michael Stewart was booked for a foul on Conway after 37 minutes and suffered a double indemnity when the victim of his tackle swapped passes with Robertson at the free kick before beating Kello from 30 yards.

The lead was unquestionably merited, and was nearly doubled when Morgaro Gomis hit the top of the Hearts bar with a fierce shot. All the visitors had to show for their efforts was a Christos Karipidis header which just missed the target.

This was the time for Laszlo to earn the corn that had been belatedly placed in his bank account on Friday, but within 16 minutes of the resumption United had sealed the points.

The creator of the second goal was Flood, although he got a fortuitous cannon off the leg of Saulius Mikoliunas to allow him progress up the right wing. That allowed him to cross into the box where Daly took the ball under control before scoring - although Kello got a strong hand to the ball.

Just as Hearts were recovering from that, they were three behind. They conceded yet another free kick in a dangerous position, and Conroy's hoisted ball was met by Robertson, who quickly added to his first goal for the club which was scored against Airdrie in midweek.

In between the killer goals, Hearts gave a debut to Danish striker Mike Tullberg, but it was not an auspicious afternoon on which to judge the new man. Proceedings only got worse for Laszlo's side when Jonsson was sent off following a second yellow card, this time for a body-check on the ever-troublesome Conway.

Mikoliunas hit the post with a 25-yard shot minutes from time, but that Hearts couldn't even claim a consolation goal summed up their afternoon.

Dundee United substitutions: O'Donovan for Sandaza 60, Swanson for Flood 90. Not used: McGovern, Grainger, Kenneth, Buaben, Goodwillie. Hearts substitutions: Nade for Ksanavicius 53, Tullberg for Mole 59, Palazuelos for Stewart 68. Not used: Balogh, Aguiar, Thomson, Radnik. Booked: Stewart 37, Jonsson 51, 74, Nade 72 Sent off: Jonsson 74

Referee: D McDonald Att: 8004

Taken from the Sunday Herald