Heart of Midlothian 0-1 Dundee

From Hearts Media at Tynecastle.

A second minute Ryan Conroy penalty denied Hearts the chance to go top of the league as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Dundee on Sunday afternoon.

Conroy's penalty ensured the Jambos got off to a nightmare start on their return to domestic action, and they suffered a further blow when John Sutton saw his first half penalty saved by Rab Douglas.

McGlynn made just one enforced change to the side that drew at Anfield; the departure of David Templeton paved the way for academy graduate Dale Carrick to make his first senior start for the club.

The game had just passed the minute mark when Marius Zaliukas fouled Colin Nish on the right side of the hearts box and referee Craig Thomson showed no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Conroy duly dispatched the spot kick into the bottom right corner to register his side's first goal of the SPL campaign.

The visitors appeared content with sitting deep and soaking up the Maroon pressure for the rest of tie as Hearts enjoyed plenty of possession, yet were unable to make inroads against a compact Dundee side.

Poor delivery form set pieces did little to aid their cause, and it took until the 20th minute mark for Rab Douglas to be properly tested as Callum Paterson hit a rising shot from distance.

Ryan McGowan, fresh from turning down a deadline day move to Ibrox, then handed his side a lifeline as his mazy run into the box saw him hauled down by Lewis Toshney. Sutton stepped up to the mark but Douglas dived full stretch to his right to deny Hearts the equaliser.

McGlynn opted to shake things up in attack ahead of the restart as new signing Ryan Stevenson replaced Sutton, but the Gorgie side continued to struggle after the interval.

Stevenson then made his mark on 60 minutes as he capitalised on a defensive slip-up before forcing a fine save from Douglas. He then got his head on the ensuing corner but a goal line clearance denied him the leveller.

Hearts struggled to find their attacking rhythm, however, and were frequently let down by a lack of precision both in their passing games and through crosses from wide areas.

Andy Driver and Jamie Walker were introduced in the latter stages, whilst Zaliukas was moved up front as the Jambos went with a five man attacking line for the remaining ten minutes.

It had little effect however, as the home side resorted to the long ball which subsequently played into the hands of the visitors, enabling them to sit deep and clear the ball high up the park.

Despite late Hearts pressure, the Dees held on to secure their first win of the season. For Hearts it was a crushing defeat after the superb performance at Anfield on Thursday, and they now face an international break prior to returning to league action away to St Mirren in two weeks time.

Hearts: Macdonald; R.McGowan, Webster, Zaliukas, Grainger; Paterson, Taouil, Barr (Walker 76), Novikovas, Carrick (Driver 65); Sutton (Stevenson 45). Subs not used: Hamilton, Robinson, Holt, D.McGowan.

Dundee: Douglas; Irvine, Lockwood, McGregor, Grassi; Toshney, Davidson, Conroy, J. Baird; McAlister, Nish (Milne 74). Subs not used: Baird, Webster, Gallagher, Boyle, Reid.

Referee: Craig Thomson

Top man: Callum Paterson

Hearts World