Hearts 2 Dundee United 1

An injury-time penalty save from Marian Kello gave Hearts maximum points and further cemented their grip on third place in the Scottish Premier League.

Barry Douglas stooped low at the near post to head Dundee United in front early on but Rudi Skacel replied with a close-range finish before half-time.

Marius Zaliukas headed a late goal before Ruben Palazuelos was sent off for a trip on United's David Robertson.

David Goodwillie's spot-kick was stopped and he fired the rebound wide.

The dramatic finale means Hearts are now 18 points clear of fourth-placed Kilmarnock and just two points adrift of Rangers in second spot, although the Edinburgh outfit have played three games more.

Jim Jefferies' team were far from their best as United carved out the better chances but Kello continued his excellent form with a third penalty stop of the season to deny the visitors a share of the spoils.

United thought they had taken the lead after just two minutes when Goodwillie forced home a Douglas corner, but referee Calum Murray disallowed the effort with the striker appearing to use his arm to help the ball over the line.

The visitors went ahead on six minutes when Goodwillie's cross was met by Douglas 10 yards out and he sent a glancing header beyond goalkeeper Marian Kello.

United continued to press and could have added to their lead when Paul Dixon whipped a cross from the left into the box for Goodwillie but Kello was able to intercept and smother before contact was made.

With Hearts looking unusually shaky at the back, a Douglas cross from the right found Garry Kenneth in front of goal and the big defender's header bounced narrowly past the post.

Kenneth was then guilty of losing the ball while trying a fancy turn deep in his own half but Dusan Pernis made a great stop to save his team-mate's blushes.

The Slovak goalkeeper had to change direction and claw the ball away as Skacel raced in on goal and let loose with a shot that took a big deflection.

Hearts full-back Lee Wallace - who was rated doubtful ahead of the game - was forced out of the action after 34 minutes and replaced by Craig Thomson.

Fellow Scotland international Kenneth was next to hobble off, following a collision with Suso Santana, and recent signing Timothy van der Meulen came off the bench to form an unlikely centre-back pairing with Sean Dillon.

And United's makeshift defence was undone in first-half injury time when Stephen Elliott's angled shot was spilled by Pernis and van der Meulen's attempts to clear fell for Skacel to tap the ball into an unguarded net.

United were again quickest out of the traps after the interval and Prince Buaben powered into the penalty box only to find the side-netting, while an ambitious volley from Van der Meulen whistled over the crossbar.

On the hour, a rocket of a free-kick from Buaben flew wide as Hearts struggled to retain possession and a few bad-tempered tackles started to fly in.

With the match growing increasingly scrappy and the yellow-card count growing, there was little to occupy either goalkeeper before a dramatic last few minutes.

Hearts substitute Andrew Driver was given three glimpses of goal in rapid succession. Van der Meulen blocked the first, Pernis stopped the second and the third shot was skewed off target.

Soon after, Hearts went ahead when Zaliukas rose highest to power a header home from Thomson's corner.

United were handed a lifeline when Robertson was upended by Palazuelos and Goodwillie placed the ball on the penalty spot after the Spaniard had been shown a red card.

However, Kello saved to ensure the points stayed in Edinburgh.

Taken from the BBC