Johnny Russell's late brace seals victory as United step up their chase for third

Russell (83, 90)

Hearts 0
Fog descended on Tannadice last night but, come full-time, it was Dundee United's top-three aspirations that looked distinctly brighter.

After a four-game winning burst in the SPL, Peter Houston's side have raised hopes of reeling in Hearts and emulating last season's third-place finish.

It appeared a stalemate amid ever-worsening visibility was on the cards until youngster Johnny Russell popped up with a glorious late double to claim a potentially-vital victory.

With it, United climbed above Kilmarnock into fourth place and within 12 points of Hearts, with a game in hand. Suddenly, it's game on for the European places.

Jim Jefferies can only hope his side can reagin their spark to avoid undoing their campaign's endeavours.

Hearts sprung a surprise by moving Ismael Bouzid to right-back to accommodate the returning Andy Webster.

Lee Wallace won his fitness battle to also start, with Ian Black restored after suspension beside lone striker Stephen Elliott. Rudi Skacel could only make the bench, while Eggert Jonsson began a three-game ban and Calum Elliot and Suso Santana dropped out.

A stretched United, playing their fourth game in a hectic 10-day spell of fixture catch-up, also raised selection eyebrows.

Jon Daly had netted two goals in two games from the bench, but, instead of a strike role, was, not for the first time, thrown in to skipper the side at centre-half in the continuing absence of Garry Kenneth. Craig Conway missed out, along with banned Prince Buaben.

Given their cushion in third, Hearts had been accused of taking their foot off the gas in collecting one point from their previous two games against Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

Rediscovering the swagger that characterised their early-season displays was deemed the target, no doubt triggering a positive opening that saw Black and Ryan Stevenson test Dusan Pernis with snapshots.

But United, conscious of needing to win to stay on the Edinburgh outfit's coat-tails, were soon snapping in to tackles and seeking to dictate play.

Russell's header over from a Keith Watson cross illustrated their threat, before Hearts fans held their breath when captain Marius Zaliukas almost headed past his own goalkeeper after a penalty-box scramble.

It was becoming a fiercely contested tussle as play raged, with the fiery David Goodwillie getting a talking to from referee Iain Brines for a push on Webster. Bouzid then earned the first yellow card for a reckless challenge on Barry Douglas, even if he and his manager, spoken to by Brines, felt he had won the ball legally.

The match was simmering, threatening to boil over, before United's talisman Goodwillie almost proved too hot to handle.

Houston, writing in the match programme, compared the striker to a certain Manchester United icon after his acrobatic bicycle-kick finish in Sunday's 2-2 Scottish Cup quarter-final draw with Motherwell.

"Wayne Rooney took a lot of credit for his goal (a similar strike in the Manchester derby last month) and I think Goodwillie has to be given similar praise," offered the United boss.

On 34 minutes, he nearly produced more magic. Collecting a flick-on from Douglas in his stride, he flashed a fierce angled drive destined for the netting until Marian Kello brilliantly touched it over. The Slovakian international left the striker distraught following his penalty save in the clubs' last meeting and again came out on top in their seemingly personal duel.

Hearts replied with an Elliott effort that curled just wide following spade work from David Templeton, but Jefferies surely demanded more from his charges at the interval.

As the weather closed in, events could have turned even darker for the visitors when Bouzid again caught the nippy Douglas only for Brines to turn a blind eye.

Jefferies had heeded the warning however, hauling off the Algerian for Andy Driver on 55 minutes.

Hearts suddenly had a new impetus and Templeton's mazy run past three home defenders was ended by a barge over in the area from Watson, but Brines was again unmoved. New right-back Craig Thomson then saw his cross nodded past by Ryan Stevenson. At the other end, Goodwillie remained the danger man, cutting in from the left only to see his shot clawed away by Kello at the near post.

But the Scotland striker, so often in the headlines, almost turned sinner when he appeared to elbow Black off the ball and was fortunate to only be shown a yellow card.

However, it was Russell who this time turned Tannadice hero.

The 20-year-old striker made the decisive breakthrough when he steered home a header from 12 yards from sub Danny Swanson's free-kick.

He then added gloss in injury time with an easy tap-in after Swanson flicked on Paul Dixon's delivery.

Dundee Utd: Pernis; Watson, Dillon, Daly, Dixon; Russell, S Robertson, D Robertson, Gomis, Douglas (Swanson 68); Goodwillie.

Subs not used: Banks, Kovacevic, Shala, Van der Meulen, Allan, Armstrong

Hearts: Kello; Bouzid (Driver 55), Zaliukas, Webster, Wallace; C Thomson, Black (Obua 86), Mrowiec, D Templeton; Stevenson; S Elliott (Glen 74). Subs not used: MacDonald, Skacel, J Thomson, Robinson.

Referee: I Brines

Attendance: 6,718

Taken from the Scotsman