Heart of Midlothian 0-2 Dundee Utd From Hearts Media at Tynecastle.

Hearts extended their winless run to five games as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Dundee United in Saturday's Clydesdale Bank Premier League encounter at Tynecastle.

Jon Daly headed home a Barry Douglas free kick to give the Taysiders a first half lead, despite the Jambos having been on top for large periods. Gavin Gunning then added a second with five minutes remaining to secure the three points for the visitors after a tame second half.

Paulo Sergio opted to make five changes to his team following last week's 3-0 defeat at Motherwell. David Templeton and Andy Webster missed out through injury and suspension respectively, which meant there were starting berths for Mehdi Taouil and Darren Barr.

Elsewhere, Jamie Hamill replaced Ryan McGowan at full back, whilst top scorer Rudi Skacel and Scott Robinson completed the midfield in place of Andrew Driver and Adrian Mrowiec.

Following a taxing run of five games in thirteen days, Hearts had a welcome seven day gap leading up to the visit of the Arabs.

As a result, the Jam Tarts looked sharp during the opening exchanges as Skacel and Robinson both forced Dusan Pernis into action with long range efforts inside the first three minutes.

They then almost took the lead on eleven minutes as David Obua headed Hamill's cross from the right back across goal. The ball fell to Stephen Elliott on six yards, whom turned sharply before firing a shot straight into the arms of the keeper.

The visitors then registered a chance of their own as Gunning met Willo Flood's corner from the right, his bullet header forcing Jamie MacDonald to dive full stretch to flick the ball over the crossbar.

The home side enjoyed plenty of possession during the first half hour, yet struggled to find the fluidity required to put the visitors under sustained periods of pressure.

An injury to playmaker Ian Black did little to aid the Jambos cause as he was forced to make way for Ryan McGowan five minutes before the interval.

In fact, his removal from the field of play was instantly followed by Peter Houston's men taking the lead. Douglas's free kick from halfway inside the maroon half found Jon Daly at the back post, and his diving header sent the ball into the bottom right corner despite the best efforts of the outstretched MacDonald.

Hearts could have levelled the scores in first half injury time after Elliot drew Pernis out of his goal on the right side before playing the ball back across the six yards box, but he failed to connect with a maroon jersey.

Sergio was dealt a further blow at half time as Captain Marius Zaliukas failed to return for the second period having picked up a knock towards the end of the half. Suso Santana replaced the Lithuanian, with McGowan partnering Barr in central defence.

The Jambos continued to apply pressure after the restart, but were making hard work of breaking down the resilient Arab defence. As a result, Sergio made his final substitution shortly after the hour mark as Andy Driver replaced Obua in midfield.

The loss of Black to injury clearly had its effect on the home side as they struggled to find the urgency and precision in the final third of the park. United utilised their compact midfield to great effect, leaving the maroon jerseys with little room in which to manoeuvre.

The Arabs then had Gunning to thank for keeping them in the lead after Suso released Skacel inside the box. The Czech's first effort was saved, but he played the rebound across goal to Elliott who was denied by a last ditch tackle from Gunning on the goal line.

Not content with protecting his side's lead, however, Gunning soon found himself celebrating a second goal as he leapt to head a corner from the left into the net past a helpless MacDonald with five minutes remaining.

It was the nail in the coffin for the Gorgie side who, despite edging the game for large periods, failed to show the same ruthlessness as their visitors in front of goal.

The result left the Jambos with just one point from their last five league games, and they must now look to get back to winning ways when they visit Ibrox next Saturday.

Hearts: MacDonald; Hamill, Barr, Zaliukas (Suso 45), Grainger; Robinson, Black (McGowan 39), Obua (Driver 65); Skacel, Elliott, Taouil. Subs not used: Ridgers, Holt, Prychynenko, Glen.

Dundee Utd: Pernis; Neilson, Douglas, Gunning, Dillon; Flood, Robertson (Ryan 89), Rankin, Mackay-Steven; Daly, Russell (Armstrong 58). Subs not used: Banks, Kenneth, Watson, Lacny, Dow.

Referee: Calum Murray

Top man: Darren Barr

Hearts World