Marius Zaliukas and Marian Kello help Hearts past Dundee United

Scottish Premier
Hearts 2

* Skacel 45,
* Zaliukas 88

Dundee United 1

* Douglas 6

* Ewan Murray at Tynecastle
* guardian.co.uk, Saturday 19 February 2011 18.50 GMT

Complacency, rather than Dundee United despite their games in hand, may be the biggest threat to Hearts in the closing weeks of this campaign.

A powerful, late header from the home captain, Marius Zaliukas, and a subsequent penalty save from Marian Kello earned a 2-1 win. The Edinburgh team find themselves in the curious position of being so far clear in third place – they are now 18 points ahead of the field – that a successful campaign could wind down rather than continue at full pace until May. That in itself carries a danger to Hearts, who are not nearly good enough to adopt a relaxed approach to league games.

United have four matches in hand on their opponents here, who must visit Tannadice twice before the end of the season, but the intervention of Zaliukas means 25 points now separate the teams. Kello's contribution was equally crucial. The Slovak palmed away David Goodwillie's stoppage-time spot-kick after Rubén Palazuelos bundled over David Robertson. Palazuelos was dismissed for that, perhaps harshly, as a game that was engaging but lacking artistic merit finished amid a frenzy.

This proved a winning return to Tynecastle for Andy Webster, who left Hearts in acrimonious circumstances in 2006. The centre-half captained United to Scottish Cup success last season but strolled through the second debut of his career at this venue.

Hearts would have felt relief as well as delight at being level by the interval. United had dominated the midfield in the opening half, with the hosts not heeding a warning after Goodwillie had a goal disallowed inside two minutes.

The only doubt about the United opener that did count was the identity of the player who took the final touch before the ball looped over Kello. Goodwillie's clever cross picked out Barry Douglas and, although the former Queens Park player will claim a first United goal, the Hearts defender Eggert Jonsson may in fact have sent the ball beyond his goalkeeper with an attempted tackle.

It took Hearts 25 minutes to mount any form of response, Stephen Elliott sending a shot narrowly wide. A Garry Kenneth error afforded Rudi Skacel an even better chance, with the Hearts man taking far too many touches with only the United goalkeeper, Dusan Pernis, to beat. That was to prove Kenneth's last action of the afternoon, a knee injury adding to United's defensive injury problems. His departure was immediately felt, although Pernis may as well be credited with an assist for the Hearts equaliser. Elliott's low shot should not have proved problematic at all for the goalkeeper, but Pernis spilled the ball, allowing Skacel a chance he could not pass up.

That strike had not glossed over an abject Hearts showing, with Jim Jefferies withdrawing the hapless David Obua during the break. Still, United had two chances to go back in front in the second half's early stages: Prince Buaben shooting wide before Webster made an excellent saving challenge on Goodwillie.

David Templeton, who had been sent on in place of Obua, was soon joined on the field by Andrew Driver as Jefferies deployed two wingers in an attempt to prise open a well-drilled visiting defence. The second period was scrappy, though, owing in part to a troublesome playing surface.

Route one, unsurprisingly, won the day. Zaliukas rose to convert a Craig Thomson corner, sending the home support into raptures that were repeated when Kello denied Goodwillie

Taken from the Guardian/Observer