Hearts 2 - 1 Dundee Utd

The victory propelled Hearts to within two points of second place in the SPL, at least until tomorrow's Old Firm encounter. However, it will be some time before the palpatations stop in Gorgie sufficiently for anyone to notice. The hosts had to come from behind following Barry Douglas' early opener, but Rudi Skacel's equaliser and the late intervention of Zaliukas put them in front with only minutes remaining.

Then, after Palazuelos was dismissed for denying David Robertson a clear scoring opportunity in the penalty area, Kello threw himself to his left to parry Goodwillie's penalty. The Slovakian then watched in relief as the rebound spun wide.

That brought an extraordinary few minutes to an end. It was almost possible to reach out and touch the relief around Tynecastle as the final whistle sounded. Hearts were subdued for large periods of the game by a tenacious United performance but their defiance and spirit ultimately saw them through. Manager Jim Jefferies hugged both Zaliukas and Kello affectionately as they left the field in recognition of their telling influence.

It was a frantic game played at relentless pace throughout. Goodwillie prodded the ball into the Hearts net from a corner after only 90 seconds but referee Calum Murray ruled that a hand had been used. Less than five minutes later, the energetic striker supplied the cross for a legitimate opener which exemplified his team's early command of play. Goodwillie's left-footed delivery found the head of Douglas and the ball spun into the air and over Kello to nestle in the goal.

Not until the 25th minute did Hearts offer any kind of response. Suso displayed fine close control to supply Eggert Jonsson with the ball on the right touchline. His cross was cushioned by Stephen Elliott on the turn but the Irishman's powerful finish landed wide of goal.

United were evidently determined not to relinquish their slender advantage but always looked capable of increasing it on the break. With Johnny Russell and Douglas hogging the flanks, they harboured pace and trickery out wide which Hearts found difficult to suppress. On the half-hour mark, Douglas' hung a cross up at the back post which Garry Kenneth headed only narrowly wide.

A minute later Skacel had a glorious opportunity to restore parity. He and Suso combined to dispossess Kenneth and the Czech sprinted towards goal. Rather than tee up his Spanish colleague he opted to shoot as visiting defenders closed in, and goalkeeper Dusan Pernis managed a vital parry whilst Suso punched the air in frustration.

Lee Wallace was withdrawn injured ten minutes from the interval and Kenneth was also forced off after hurting his knee in a challenge with Suso. That left Dundee United to reorganise in defence as Timothy van der Meulen climbed off the substitutes' bench. Within second they had conceded.

Stephen Elliott gathered the ball from Ian Black and drove tenaciously towards the penalty area. His attempt from 18-yards was pushed away by Pernis and Skacel reacted quickest to slide in and prod the ball home. The cheers were as much of relief as celebration, for United had controlled an overwhelming majority of the first period.

The principal concern for Jefferies at half-time was the unusual paucity of his attack, where David Obua had returned but looked shorn of confidence. He was replaced by David Templeton for the second half.

Prince Buaben hit side-netting shortly after the restart after capitalising on some slipshod Hearts defending. Again the visitors began in the ascendancy and hemmed their opponents in their own half without fashioning any clear openings in front of goal. At the opposite end, Stephen Elliott cut a forlorn and isolated figure.

Hearts might have secured their 60 seconds before it arrived as substitute Andy Driver and Skacel both unleashed shots at goal after Pernis had cleared a through ball unconvincingly. Despite two attempts from Driver and one from Skacel, United survived due to brave defensive blocks. Only for a mere few seconds, though.

Hearts forced another corner, and from Craig Thomson's delivery Zaliukas rose to put a quite unstoppable header high in the United net. That seemed to be the end of the story, however United had one final push in them which brought the reward of a stoppage-time penalty.

Palazuelos chased a loping through pass with Robertson and was ajudged to have tripped the midfielder in the act of shooting. The Spaniard was ordered off, it was left to Kello to save the day. And save the day he did.

Hearts (4-3-3): Kello, Jonsson, Zaliukas, Webster, Wallace (C Thomson 35); Black, Skacel, Palazuelos; Suso (Driver 74), S Elliott, Obua (Templeton 46). Subs: MacDonald, Stevenson, Bouzid, Glen.

Dundee Utd (4-3-3): Pernis; Watson, Dillon, Kenneth (Van der Meulen 44), Dixon; D Robertson, S Robertson (Shala 90), Buaben; Russell (Swanson 80), Goodwillie, Douglas. Subs: Banks, Gomis, Dow, Armstrong.

Referee: Calum Murray.

Attendance: 15,473.

Taken from the Scotsman