Hearts 2 Dundee United 1

Lady luck has not just turned her back on Dundee United, she has stormed off in the huff leaving them wondering what they have done to upset her.

Instead of match programmes, the Tangerines should perhaps consider selling wee bits of white heather outside Tannadice in a bid to change their fortune, as they really haven't had the breaks this season.

Their fixture schedule has been savaged by the weather, leaving them four matches behind most of their SPL rivals and facing the real prospect of playing four times a week at the business end of the campaign.

Also, their treatment room is crammed full of casualties, with the names worth listing.

Crocked, or not considered ready to start, are — defenders Garry Kenneth, Scott Severin, Mihael Kovacevic, Darren Dods; midfielders Craig Conway and Morgaro Gomis and strikers Jon Daly and Johnny Russell.

A host of others, notably playmaker Danny Swanson, have been sidelined at various stages of the season.

Kenneth and Russell are the latest additions to the miserable tally, with the former out for at least three weeks with a knee medial ligament strain and the latter to be assessed today by physio Jeff Clarke.

Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Hearts only enhanced the argument that luck has deserted United.

A bright and breezy start saw them apparently take a second-minute lead at Tynecastle only for an unsighted referee Calum Murray to rule David Goodwillie had handled the ball as it made its way into the net.
Well-deserved lead

Undaunted, the visitors continued to take the game to the hosts and a whipped-in cross appeared to loop in off Eggert Jonsson, under pressure from Barry Douglas, on six minutes to earn them a well-deserved lead.

The Tangerines were outplaying the Edinburgh men — no mean feat this season — until they suffered a major blow on 43 minutes when Kenneth hobbled off to be replaced by rookie Dutchman Timothy van der Meulen.

Sensing weakness at the back, Hearts pressed for a leveller and got it two minutes into first-half stoppage time when a Stephen Elliot shot was only parried by Dusan Pernis and the rare mistake by the United keeper left the ball free in front of goal.

Van der Meulen should have booted it clear a la Kenneth but took a touch and only resulted in playing it off Rudi Skacel and into the net.

It was a shame for the new boy, a young player who has arrived full of promise but will now have to get up to speed quickly, starting tomorrow night at McDiarmid Park against St Johnstone.

United regrouped after the break and again were bossing the match until the home side pinned them back in the latter stages.

Again, the case could be made that had Kenneth still been on the park the 88th-minute corner sent over by Skacel would have been nodded clear instead of let through to Marius Zaluikas, whose header gave Pernis no chance.

Then, just when you thought that was that, United midfielder David Robertson raced goalwards in injury time, only to be fouled inside the box by Ruben Palazuelos, who was sent off.

United's luck had changed, it seemed, until Goodwillie sent the last-gasp spot-kick straight at keeper Marian Kello, then the striker hit the rebound into the ground and wide.

An understandably downbeat Pernis revealed he was convinced Goodwillie would convert the kick and cursed his team's misfortune.

"I believed David would score the penalty but it was not to be," said Pernis. "We played very well in the first half but not so good in the second. We lost 2-1, but I can hardly believe it.

"At the first goal it was my mistake, but I felt we deserved to take something from the game. Football is sometimes not fair."

Manager Peter Houston said he took greater satisfaction from the way his players played on Saturday than he did when they beat Hibs convincingly at Tannadice last month.

"I was really, really pleased with our performance," said Houston. "We beat Hibs 3-0 recently and we played better this time than we did then.

"Football can be cruel at times and I thought, even when we lost the second goal, that we didn't deserve to lose the match.

"We then got a break with the penalty kick but unfortunately we missed it, or rather the goalkeeper made the save.

"But I am going to look at the bigger picture. We had seven players aged 21 or under in the squad, four of whom started the game. So I see a lot of promise and potential within these players.

"I was delighted with the performance, but absolutely gutted to get beaten on a day when I don't think we deserved to lose."

Houston took umbrage with some of referee Murray's decisions, notably the booking he handed out to Paul Dixon, which pushes the full-back closer to suspension, and the chalking off of the early Goodwillie "goal."
Booked

"Calum is one of the better referees in Scotland and has been brilliant this season," he said. "But there was an instance when Dixon got booked for his first tackle over on the far side and that means he is almost suspended again.

"Then, within two or three minutes, Zaluikas does the exact same foul but is only spoken to. I would like clarity on what is a yellow card and what isn't.

"I don't want players booked, but can someone tell me what the difference was between the two challenges?

"Also, according to the fourth official the reason for the disallowed goal being chalked off was handball. From the angle Calum was at I don't know how the referee could see that. If it's a handball it's a handball, but I was at the same angle as Calum and didn't see it.

"He has done well to see that."

Hearts are now all but secure in third spot, and although outplayed for long spells by United, should be aiming to catch Rangers.

"We are only two or three wins away from getting third place," said boss Jim Jefferies. "We are not there yet and we can't take anything for granted. We have never gone shouting about trying to get second place. If we get third place, we will see where we are after that.

"We will have a go, that is all we can do. We set out to try and have a good season and that is what we are doing. We just want to get third wrapped up as soon as possible."

Taken from The Courier