Second-half revival from Hearts sees third spot all but cemented

By Stuart Bathgate
at Tynecastle
THE pressure is off now, and how Hearts fare for the rest of the season will depend on how they react to that fact. Eighteen points clear in third place, they have no need to look behind them anxiously at the chasing pack, while recent defeats by both halves of the Old Firm have probably done irreparable harm to their hopes of higher things.
It is an unfamiliar position to be in, and one which brings its own dangers. If they relax too much - as they appeared to do in a woefully sluggish start against Dundee United - they may do no more than flop over the finishing line, all impetus gone. But if they respond positively by playing some uninhibited football, they could be in for a richly entertaining end to the season.

Jim Jefferies, of course, has every intention of ensuring they follow the latter path. Though delighted with what has been achieved thus far, the Hearts manager sees no reason why they should shut up shop just yet.

Despite repeated protestations that they do not want to be considered as title challengers, he is quietly determined to ensure the fight to make further headway against Rangers and Celtic goes the distance.

"We're only two or three wins away from getting third - we're not there yet," Jefferies said after a dramatic conclusion to Saturday's match saw Marian Kello save a David Goodwillie penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Referring to yesterday's Old Firm clash, he added: "We're going to gain ground on somebody tomorrow, and they'll be shouting about us being back in (contention].

"But we've not gone shouting about that. What we'll do, is if we get this third place won we can see where we are and we can have a go and enjoy it, knowing we've had a great season."

They should enjoy that run-in all the more given the state of their squad. Kevin Kyle may be out of action for a few weeks yet, but the depth available to Jefferies is still the envy of every other manager outwith the big two. The arrival of Andrew Driver and David Templeton off the substitutes' bench was indicative of that, while the other replacement, Craig Thomson, laid on the winning goal for Marius Zaliukas from a corner.

Dundee United, by contrast, are fast running out of bodies to deal with their heavy fixture backlog. Striker Jon Daly has been ruled out for a time because of a hernia, and his absence will be all the more keenly felt given his ability to deputise at centre-half.

Garry Kenneth twisted a knee ligament in the first half here and is likely to miss three weeks, and his replacement, Timothy van der Meulen, needs to get up to speed quickly if he is not to be a weak link in defence.

At the moment United look like the fourth-best team in the country - indeed, for much of this game they looked better than that - but they will be sorely tested by that demanding schedule. Outcomes such as this one must also sap their self-belief, for they contributed so much, yet left Tynecastle with nothing.

Hearts should have known that against a team as lively as United they would need to be on their toes from the start, and if they had forgotten that fact they were given a reminder when Goodwillie had the ball in the net after just a couple of minutes only to see his effort chalked off for a hand-ball. But the home team did not heed that warning, and were punished just a few minutes later when Barry Douglas glanced in a header from a Goodwillie cross.

With passes going astray in midfield and David Obua at his most ineffectual up front, Hearts were out of sorts for much of the first half, only Suso Santana proving a consistent threat to the United defence. A foot injury which ended Lee Wallace's involvement could have added to Jefferies' woes, but instead the enforced reorganisation helped Hearts get into gear.

The loss of Kenneth shortly before half-time had the opposite effect on United, whose concession of an equaliser in stoppage time was due to errors both from goalkeeper Dusan Pernis and his defence. Stephen Elliott's tame shot took a bobble just before it got to Pernis, who spilled the ball to his right. As three United players stood on, Rudi Skacel slid in to score from two yards.

United were by no means a spent force in the second half, and in Scott Robertson they had the most influential midfielder on the pitch. But, with Andy Webster showing them the crucial difference between being self-assured and becoming too relaxed, Hearts slowly gained the upper hand.

Driver had two shots cleared off the line in the final ten minutes before Zaliukas profited from some more slack marking to head powerfully home. Having laboured so long to get in front, Hearts should have seen the game out without incident, but threw United a lifeline when Ruben Palazuelos impeded David Robertson in the box. The Spaniard was sent off, but Kello ensured the error was not a costly one by pulling off his third penalty save of the season.

Taken from the Scotsman